Lost Wings
by Terrific Tina
Summary: BridgeSky as usual. Bridge possesses a power great enough to change the world and a powerful,old enemy is after it. It's gonna take everything Sky has to save the love of his life, with the help of some new friends!
1. The ruins

Disclaimer: I don't own SPD or Tsubasa Chronicles.

Chapter One: The Ruins.

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Cruger frowned at the pictures spread before him. Apparently, in the middle of the woods near Kyoto, Japan, ruins had been uncovered with an unknown origin. Archaeologists were working on completely excavating them, but there had been old sightings nearby. He was wondering whether to send the Rangers to the ruins for protection of the team and what the ruins symbolized.

Glancing at the pictures once again, the Commander called all the Rangers to the Command Centre.

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Sky sighed as he turned another page of his SPD handbook. Syd and Z were playing cards and talking about Jack and Ally's developing relationship.

The new Red Ranger scowled at his two other teammates, but they didn't even look up at him. Sky hated it when anyone talked about relationships. It only made him miss his old roommate even more.

After the fight with Grumm a year ago, both Sky and Bridge had been promoted to the Red and Blue Rangers respectively and Bridge had been transferred to the base in Japan. Sky at first had been happy for Bridge and had joked about how he wouldn't have to hear explanations on why socks were never found after they were lost, but as time went by, he began to miss his disorganized friend.

Sky had long ago realised that his relationship with Bridge was more than friendship and was shocked to realize that he had in fact fallen in love with his once best friend. As time went by, both Bridge and Sky became too busy to spend time contacting each other. They hadn't talked for over a year and Sky was slowly going back to his old, closed self, much to the dismay of Syd and Z.

The Red Ranger put down his book as Cruger called the Rangers to the Command Centre and followed Syd and Z. Cruger stood in front of the console, his hands clasped behind his back.

"Rangers, we've detected some odd activity in Kyoto, Japan and I'm sending one of you there," Cruger said shortly.

Sky's eyes widened and the words were out of his mouth before he could stop them, "Commander, isn't Bridge's squad over there?"

"Yes, but they've been sent off planet to take care of some alien activity on Mirinoi. They're short-handed and need some help. Bridge is still over there, though, and he'll be helping you with your mission.

"So, we get to see Bridge again?" Syd said with a large smile.

"Actually, only one of you is going. I can't leave NewTech unprotected," Cruger said sympathetically.

"Sir, I'll go," Sky stepped forward.

"I thought you would, cadet. You will leave in two hours. Get your things packed and carry casual clothes. We don't want any suspicions to arise among the archaeologists," Cruger nodded,

"Yes sir!" the Rangers saluted and left the Command Centre.

"Do you think Sky will tell him?" Kat asked Cruger.

"I don't know. Sky needs to take the opportunity while he's got it. Bridge will be good for him," the Commander smiled.

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"Soooo?" Syd grinned at Sky as she helped him pack.

"What?" Sky ignored her.

"Are you gonna tell Bridge that you love him?" Syd ducked as Sky threw a shirt at her.

"Syd, the SPD hand-"

"Sky, lay off the SPD handbook! I know the rules just as well as you do! I also know that you are in love with Bridge! You have to tell him!" Syd threw a black wifebeater into one of Sky's bags.

Sky simply finished packing without another word and then walked out of the room towards the shuttle.

"God, he is such a prude!" she sighed.

Sky contemplated what Syd said before he left as he directed the shuttle to Kyoto.

"He can't know. I can't handle ruining what we have," Sky said to himself and then pushed those thoughts out of his mind as he concentrated on flying the shuttle. After an hour, he landed in Kyoto and was greeted by the Commander if the Kyoto branch of SPD.

"Cadet Tate, welcome to the Kyoto branch of SPD," Commander Hiro Toriyama nodded.

"Sir!" Sky saluted and followed the Commander inside the base.

"Your room is down that hall, number 21. We will debrief you when you settle down," the Commander smiled and Sky entered his room and gawked at the sheer size of it. The room was twice the size of the Red Ranger quarters at the NewTech branch.

Sky began to unpack his bags and then heard a knock on his door. He walked up to it and pressed the unlock button. No sooner did the door open with a mechanical 'hiss' Sky found himself tackled by a red and black blur and tripped onto the floor.

"SKY!" the Kyoto Red Ranger grinned and Sky's eyes widened as he took in the familiar, cheerful features.

"Bridge?" Sky said in shock as he saw his old friend wearing the Red Ranger uniform of the base. (imagine the Japanese uniform)

"Yup! How are you? Are you okay? How's everyone back home? How's being the Red Ranger? How-" Sky cut off his friend and secret love by putting his hand over his mouth.

"Whoa, whoa! Once question at a time!" Sky grinned.

"Sorry," Bridge said sheepishly and then realised their position which had him on top of Sky and gasped.

"Sorry! I'm cutting off all the blood to your legs!" Bridge got off him and sat down cross-legged in front of his old roommate.

"It's alright, Bridge!" Sky smiled as he took in the slightly changed appearance of his oldest friend. Aside from his hair being slightly longer, Bridge was still exactly the same as he had been earlier and his emerald green eyes still sparkled with mirth.

"So you came here for the ruins thing?" Bridge asked.

"Yup. Cruger said your squad was off-planet, so he sent me to help you."

"Wow, it's been a year since we last saw each other, huh?" Bridge smiled as he remembered the time when they had been roommates.

"Yeah. It's also been over ten years since we've been friends!" Sky grinned.

"Yeah. We literally grew up together! I couldn't believe it when Cruger said I was transferred to Kyoto!"

"I couldn't either! Japan?"

"Hey, I didn't suggest it! I was the only one among us who could speak Japanese!"

"I have to admit, I'm surprised you knew when I came!" Sky looked at him.

"I had a feeling. You're best friend, Schyuler! I missed you cause, we never got to send any time together. It's lonely…" Bridge looked down.

"Bridge…" Sky looked rather sad himself.

"Sometimes, when I'm on the roof, I look at the stars and wonder if you're thinking about me…" Bridge blushed.

"Of course I do!" Sky put his hands on Bridge's arms, "at night, I look up at the stars myself and wonder, 'what is Bridge doing right now'? If I didn't care about you, I wouldn't let you call 'Schyuler'! Aside from my mom, you're the only one allowed to call me that and also the only one that knows that's my real name!"

"Sky, I, um, I want to tell you something," Bridge blushed and looked away from him.

"What is it?" Sky's breath caught as he looked at the color in the cheeks of object of his desires.

"Sky, I-" the alarms began to ring and nearly caused Bridge and Sky to have a heart-attack.

"God, if I get my hands on Akira, I'm going to kill him!" Bridge scowled.

"Akira?" Sky tried to hide his dismay at being interrupted from his conversation with Bridge.

"He always works on the stupid alarms and always sets them off when he can't find me! I got to go, or else he'll do it again!" Bridge sighed and got up. He walked towards the door and then stopped in front of it, his back facing Sky.

"Sky?" Bridge said quietly.

"Hmm?"

"That thing I wanted to tell you? When we meet next, I'll tell you."

"Okay," Sky nodded and Bridge left, walking towards the Command Centre. Sky watched him go and smiled as he saw several cadets who were passing by waving to Bridge and the Red Ranger reciprocating with a warm smile. It was obvious that even here, Bridge was well-loved by the cadets.

Sky sighed and took his father's picture out of his bag, "These things I'm feeling… can never be, can they, father?" Sky looked out.

"We may have grown up together, but that doesn't change the fact that we can be both be ostracized for this. I can't let Bridge go through that pain once again…"

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Bridge scowled as he paced his quarters and then flopped down on the bed.

"Akira is such an idiot!" he growled. He was just about to tell Sky about his feelings and then Akira had rung the alarms because he wanted Bridge to return his book.

Bridge looked outside his window and saw the ruins which they were guard jutting out of the ground. From what he had heard, there was more underground than they had thought and the excavation was going to go on for quite a while.

Bridge stepped out on the roof of the base where he could get a clearer view of the ruins and took a deep breath of the cool, night air.

"I'll tell him tomorrow," Bridge decided, gazing at a soft light coming from the ruins nearby. He closed his eyes, thinking about Sky, "Tomorrow, I'll tell him that I . . . love him."

Bridge opened his eyes to see that the light was increasing and that the ruins were glowing like a bulb. He heard a soft sound ringing sound in the distance and closed his eyes.

"Is it a bell?" he asked himself, "It's as if it's calling me. It's sound is so . . . pure." Images flashed in his mind's eye.

_A symbol like wings, a silver sword with a dragon on the hilt, the tinkering of bells which a person with a pure heart was wearing, an unknown but lovely feeling in his heart, a blood-red symbol with a dark background. Him and Sky, who was badly wounded, the two close but still separated. A thin but incredibly strong transparent material kept them separated or else their palms would be touching. Bridge had tears in his eyes and Sky was screaming and pounding on it, but it never gave_.

Unknown to him he was beginning to float a few inches of the ground, but all of a sudden he snapped out of trance as his feet touched the roof once more. Bridge blinked slightly, trying to recollect what had happened, "Was that Schyuler?"

The images faded from his mind and by the time he reached his room, he had forgotten them completely.

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Meanwhile, in NewTech, Kat gasped and woke up from her nightmares. She looked at the clock and the one o'clock shine back at her. He flopped back onto her bed and rubbed her eyes.

"The ancient power is awakening."

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(sweatdrop) Sorry that this chapter isn't too good. I'm trying to get back my imagination. The next one will be better, I promise! Kat knows what's happening, I know what's happening. You will know what's happening, but you'll have to wait! ;)

BYEBYE!


	2. The beginning

**Disclaimer: Don't own.**

**Episode two: The beginning.**

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**Sky looked up from his book as a young, B-squad cadet knocked at the door frame.**

"**The Commander wants you to report to the Command Centre," the cadet said softly.**

"**Thanks," Sky smiled and got off the bed, following the cadet to outside the Command Centre. He entered it to see Bridge already standing in front of the **

**console with his Commander.**

"**Hey Schyuler!" Bridge smiled warmly. Sky smiled back and then turned his attention to the Commander, who was eyeing them with an amused smile.**

**Does everyone know about us except us? Sky thought.**

"**Cadets, you are to report to the ruin site at exactly twelve noon today. You have an hour to prepare and I think I should brief both of you on the reason why we want the ruins to be protected," the Commander showed them a picture of the ruins along with some pictures of odd creatures skulking about.**

"**These ruins are said to be home to a great power, one so powerful, it could change the world. We fear that someone wants that power for themselves and I doubt that is a good thing. Bridge, you have been guarding these ruins for a while, please show cadet Tate his way around and-"**

"**Be careful," Bridge finished. The Commander smiled at his favorite cadet and nodded. Bridge turned to Sky with a big grin on his face.**

"**Come on! We have to change and get going! Wear something casual! You do have something casual, right?" Bridge happily babbled on and grabbed Sky's wrist, dragging him out. The Commander simply shook his head and returned his attention to his files.**

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"**Kat, tell me again where you're going?" Cruger followed his old friend as she walked towards the shuttle bay.**

"**Something's going on in Japan. I can feel it," Kat scowled.**

"**What something?" Cruger frowned and then stood in front of her, blocking her way, "Kat?"**

"**Doggie," Kat sighed and then looked up at him before gesturing to go inside the shuttle bay. The two of them entered and the doors close behind them as Kat began her explanation.**

"**As you know, aside from being a scientist, I was also the High Priest of my world. I've been able to sense power and often had a sense of foreboding before a large event. I felt this same vibe before my world was destroyed. Something big is going to happen and I know it!" Kat explained.**

"**Does it have to do with Bridge?" Cruger asked softly.**

"**Yes. I told you before; Bridge has an incredible power, Doggie, one that can change the world! He doesn't know that he has it, but he does! When Sky first came to this Academy, I felt uneasy around him. I felt coldness," Kat almost looked ashamed to mention it, "but once he met Bridge, and as he started opening up to him, started showing emotion, that feeling faded."**

**Cruger nodded and put his paws on her shoulders, "I know. You spoke to me about it several times. You also said… that Bridge and Sky are destined for each other."**

"**I felt it the moment when Sky learned to laugh again, thanks to Bridge. I sensed adversity in the future, one even greater than Grumm and Omni. The two of them will have to join together to face it. The only thing is, Doggie, they're just children! Barely adults! Bridge is eighteen and Sky is twenty-one! What they have to do in the future…" she trailed off and began making her way towards the ship.**

**Cruger followed her, "I'm coming as well…"**

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"**There it is!" Bridge pointed out as he leaned out of the jeep Sky was driving.**

"**Bridge, be careful!" Sky nearly yelled as he had to take a turn and Bridge nearly fell out.**

"**Sorry! It would not have been nice to fall into this sand…" Bridge grinned sheepishly as he sat back down. The ruins were just ahead, jutting out of the desert sand. They were shaped like two curved horns, jutting out of the ground to form a sort of gateway.**

"**What do you know about them?' Sky asked as he parked the jeep and hopped out, walking around to Bridge's side.**

"**No more than you do, oop!" Bridge attempted to hop out of the jeep, but tripped on the edge of the door, nearly falling down, but Sky saved him from a rather painful descent.**

"**You okay?" Sky asked, trying to hide his blush at holding Bridge in a bridal carry.**

"**Y-Yeah, thanks," Bridge hopped out of Sky's arms quickly and began walking, trying to hide the fact that he was blushing as well.**

"**Are we the only ones here as security?" Sky attempted to change the subject.**

"**Nope. There are other cadets, but they're hiding as well," Bridge nodded. Sky looked around, but all he saw were archaeologists.**

"**I don't see them," he frowned.**

"**Then they're doing a good job as undercover, huh?" Bridge smiled. Sky shook his head and followed Bridge, who headed towards one of the tents.**

"**Tama-san?" Bridge asked politely and a man who appeared to be in his late forties looked up and smiled at the teen.**

"**Bridge-kun! How are you?" he smiled and gestured for them to enter and sit, "who's your friend?"**

"**Tama-san, this is my friend, Schyuler," Bridge pointed to Sky who shook Tama's hand.**

"**I go by Sky," the Newtech Red Ranger nodded.**

"**Fine," the old man smiled and turned to grab his notes.**

"**Bridge-kun?" Sky whispered to Bridge with a grin.**

"**It's an honorific. You normally add those to a person's name at the end. They're called 'honorifics'. I add 'san' to Tama-san's name cause it's the same as adding 'Mr.' or 'Miss' to another person's name. 'Kun' is an endearment mainly used for boys and 'chan' is used for girls and occasionally boys and family. If you don't add an honorific to someone's name, it can be taken as an insult if you don't have a close relationship with the person. If you can say someone's name without the honorific and with permission, it means you have a really close bond with that person," Bridge explained quickly.**

**Sky nodded and grinned, "Okay, Bridge-chan."**

"**Schyuler!'" Bridge huffed and whacked him on the arm, "no need for honorifics!"**

"**How come you and I never used them?" Sky asked.**

"**Cause we were close friends before I learnt about them!" Bridge smiled, "if you really care for someone, there's no need for honorifics, so just call me 'Bridge', okay?"**

"**Fine," Sky smiled.**

"**Bridge-kun," Tama came back to them and took them to the ruins, showing them a passage in the side of one ruin that led downwards. **

"**What's down there?' Bridge looked at him.**

"**We found a rather odd symbol down there. We think these ruins signify a gateway to somewhere."**

"**Can we go down and examine it?' Sky asked.**

"**If you want. But be careful," Tama warned and both Bridge and Sky walked down the stairs towards the symbol.**

**Sky looked around as they reached the end of the staircase and spotted the a large circle in the ground with a drawing of a pair of wings in the centre. The drawing was just as big as the symbol.**

**Bridge didn't look anywhere else, besides at Sky. Bridge finally decided that, while they were alone, he would finally tell Sky about his feelings.**

"**Schyuler?" Bridge called to him and the Red Ranger walked up to his friend.**

"**Yes?"**

"**Schyuler, I wanna tell you something," Bridge blushed deeply, "I lo-" he stopped short as he looked away and saw the symbol on the ground.**

"**Bridge?' Sky basked, concern lacing his voice as well as anticipation. He had a damn good idea of what Bridge was saying. The Ranger walked towards the centre of the circle.**

"**I saw this in my dream…" Bridge said softly and knelt down, touching the drawing with his fingertips.**

"**Bridge-" Sky began, but was cut off as the ruin began to shake violently and light began to shine from the symbol. Sky covered his head and watched Bridge simply kneel there, unmoving.**

**Bridge looked at him, a blank look on his face, along with a warm smile. The **

**ground suddenly split in the center and Bridge fell through it.**

"**BRIDGE!" Sky screamed and jumped in after him.**

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**Far away, in another dimension, a man with white and black hair, ice blue eyes and a monocle on one of them was viewing the disturbance in a mirror. **

"**At last," he muttered in a cold voice, "the power to span dimensions has been awoken." He gazed at a cylinder in which the body of a young man floated. **

"**And I shall take measures to ensure it is within my grasp. I shall possess that power no matter what and no one will stand in my way."**

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**In another world, a thin man with feathery blonde hair and ice blue eyes climbed out of a pool of water and looked down at a glass coffin at the bottom of the pool. In it, the body of a man with midnight blue hair that was nearly knee length appeared to be sleeping.**

"**I hope you sleep well, my king," the man smiled as he dried himself off and then put on a long, fluffy coat, suitable for the bitter cold in his world. He then grabbed his staff and drew some symbols in the air around him. Each symbol glowed as he finished and then magic began to surround him.**

"**Time to go see the witch."**

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**In yet another world, a man with dark raven hair and red eyes and wearing armor that had a protective shield on his sword arm, covered by a cloak, slaughtered yet another adversary who was attacking him.**

"**You're weak, you're all weak!" he laughed as he sheathed his long silver katana, "you're supposed to be assassins, am I right? Can't you send anyone with guts to fight me?"**

"**You didn't do what I said again, did you Kurogane?" a soft female voice came from behind him and he turned to see a woman with long black hair tied with bells and dressed in royal robes, looking at him disapprovingly.**

"**Princess Tomoyo?" Kurogane muttered and then straightened, "every assassin has been dealt with! How can you have a complaint against that?"**

"**I asked you to avoid unnecessary death, were those not my words?" she said softly.**

"**It doesn't matter to me. I just want to become stringer than I am. If my opponent dies in the process, it's not my concern," Kurogane grinned wolfishly, the moonlight illuminating the blood on his face.**

**Tomoyo smiled sadly, "Then I have no choice."**

**Kurogane didn't even have time to react as the floor began to liquefy and he began to sink into it, "Cut this out, Tomoyo!"**

"**One more thing before you go," she made a symbol in the air and it flew onto Kurogane's head guard, glowing before disappearing.**

"**The hell?"**

"**That was a curse. From now on, the more people you kill unnecessarily, the more your strength will decrease."**

"**Tomoyo!" Kurogane yelled in rage as he continued to sink into the floor.**

"**One day, you will surely find true strength,": she smiled.**

**Kurogane thrust his fist up as he sank completely into the ground, "I'LL BE BACK AND DON'T YOU FORGET IT!"**

**Tomoyo smiled sadly and then looked up at the star-studded sky, "Your journey has just begun, Kurogane…"**

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**Sky landed with a crouch on the ground and he looked up to see the symbol which had been on the ground now on the wall about twenty feet off the ground. Bridge was floating in front of it, his eyes blank and Sky had a feeling he was completely unaware of what was happening around him.**

"**I have to save him," Sky growled and took out his morpher, "SPD EMERGENCY!" he yelled, but he didn't morph.**

"**Great!" he yelled and then put his morpher away and relied on his cadet training to climb over the falling beams and rocks. He saw something white light coming from behind Bridge and his mouth dropped as magnificent wings sprouted from the Ranger's back, resembling the drawings.**

"**Bridge!" Sky yelled. He didn't notice as a blue light appeared around him, his attention focused on saving his love.**

**Bridge began to sink back into the wall, the wings along with him and somehow Sky knew that if that happened, he would never see his friend again. He braced his foot against a small crease in the rock face and leapt up nearly seven feet, managing to grab Bridge around the waist and with a hard pull, freed him from the wall. He landed with a crouch and all of a sudden, the wings seemed to shatter with sound of glass breaking and Sky watched in shock as pure white feathers flew towards the sky and disappeared. At the same time, he felt Bridge's body temperature decrease until he was nearly freezing.**

"**He's as cold as ice," Sky muttered before picking him up in a bridal carry, "I have to get him out of here!"**

**Sky looked up at the ledge leading towards the stairs, which was a long way off the ground. He felt some sort of power push him and he made the jumps with ease and was out of the collapsing cave in seconds. He ran out of the cave, only to be greeted with a sight of the dead bodies of the archaeologists spread about the ruin site. A large robot with metal wolf-claws attached to its hands leaped at him and Sky was almost sliced, but saved by a very familiar sword**

"**Commander!" Sky said in shock as the Shadow Ranger took a defensive stance in front of them and herded them towards a path which led towards a cave. Sky carried Bridge in and was surprised to see Kat standing there with a long staff which had a sun and moon symbol on it.**

"**Kat?" Sky asked, confused.**

"**Put Bridge down here," Kat said softly. The Ranger obeyed, but his confusion increased as Kat put her hand on Sky's forehead and closed her eyes. **

"**I've read your memory," she announced to his surprise. Kat looked at Bridge with slight pain in her eyes, "His wings have taken flight."**

"**Wings?" Sky asked, confused.**

**Kat looked at all of him, "Bridge's heart and wings are one, but his heart is nowhere on this world. Without it, his body is nothing more than an empty shell. If nothing is done, he'll die."**

**Sky felt like a serpent had coiled around his heart, he couldn't breathe and shook his head frantically, "He can't die, Kat, I won't let him."**

**Kat turned to him, "Sky, there is a way to save him but it is very deadly. I will send you to a person called the Space-Time Witch. If you pay an equal price, she will give you the power to travel to different dimensions but you have no way of knowing how many memories are left and be rest assured, you won't be able to fight while morphed since there might be no morphing grid. Bridge's feathers are a source of great power. If anyone possesses the feather, there will be a fight. You may find a friendly world or one with nothing but war or even one where SPD is evil and Grumm is good. People you've met in one world may have developed under completely different conditions. All that said, do you still want to leave?"**

**Sky looked at Bridge and knew his answer. He nodded, "Yes."**

"**Fine, but you may as well hand over both your morphers as they won't be of any use," she pointed out. Sky handed them over and then picked Bridge up again, holding him tightly against his body. Kat began her incantation and almost immediately, a large wind blew up and a sheet of opaque magic surrounded both Bridge and Sky. Once they were covered, it melted back into the ground and the wind died down. Kat smiled up at the sky.**

"**I pray for you safe return."**

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**At a place far away, in front of a palace, a woman with marble white skin and jet black hair stood awaiting her 'guests'. All of a sudden, the sky and ground warped like three tear drops which burst to reveal a young man with pale blond hair and blue eyes in one, another burst apart to reveal a man with raven hair and red eyes, while the final one burst apart to reveal two teens, one with blonde hair and blue eyes and the other one with brown hair and looked to be unconscious.**

"**Are you the Space-Time Witch?" the awake teen asked.**

**The white woman nodded, "I am called that by some and am also called Yuuko."**

**The blue-eyed man clutched the body in his arms tighter and looked at her with a fierce determination in his eyes, "Please help me! I need you to save Bridge!"**

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**And another chapter is done! Things are heating up now! The stage is set and the soon, the quest will beginning! Does Sky have what it takes?**

**P.S: I'll be using a few Japanese words here and there, but don't worry, I'll tall you what word means what beforehand!**


	3. A Price

Disclaimer: Don't own them, dammit!

Episode Three: A Price.

A/N: Those who want to know what the wings I had mentioned in the previous chapter look like, here's a link to a picture!

http / isina sinned . deviantart . com / art / tsubasa-chronicles – 54755314

Just remove the spaces.

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Yuuko, the Time-Witch, looked at the four people in her shop. She felt a tinge of sympathy at the sight of the unconscious boy, but quickly pushed it aside. She could not afford to be sympathetic to her customers.

"Who the hell are you?" the man with red eyes growled out, remaining in a fighting stance, one hand close to his katana.

Yuuko raised her hand and made a stop motion. "First, please tell me your names," she said in an emotionless voice.

The man with the white coat and staff stepped up and bowed politely, "I am Fai. D. Flowright, the wizard of Seresu."

The man with dark hair looked at her warily and then looked at the surrounding buildings. There was tall and short buildings outside the temple gates. "I'm Kurogane. Where is this?"

"This is Japan," she said coolly, "but a different Japan from yours."

"Huh? What the crap are you spouting?" he growled.

"Mr. Black, can you keep your insults down?" Fai called out.

"I AM NOT MR. BLACK!" Kurogane yelled at Fai, who covered his ears.

"You are?" the Witch turned to Sky, ignoring the fight between the others.

"I'm Sky Tate," Sky replied.

"Real name is Schyuler, am I right?" she smiled slightly.

"Yes," Sky nodded and clutched bridge tighter.

Yuuko looked at Bridge and crouched down next to them. She placed her hand on his forehead and grimaced, "This child's name is Bridge, am I right?"

"Yes. I want to save him, can you help me?" Sky's desperation came out loud and clear.

The Witch moved her hand to bridge's heart, "He has lost something precious. Something he cannot live without."

"Huh?" Sky looked rather confused.

"His wings are gone," she clarified. Sky looked rather shocked and she continued, "His heart, soul and wings are one. Without his wings, his body is nothing more than an empty shell. If nothing is done, there is no doubt that he will die."

Sky held on even tighter, as though he could stop Bridge's life from leaving his body.

"Do you know where you are?" she asked them all.

"A place where any wish can be granted if an equal price is paid," Fai answered.

"Yes, please state your wishes," she said in a business.

"My home world… is where I want to be," Kurogane straightened and help his katana behind his back.

"My home world… is where I don't want to be," Fai said with a smile. Kurogane threw him a glare which was pointedly ignored.

The Witch turned to one of her assistants, "Bring the Mokona." The man ran off as she addressed all the others.

"Your wishes…. are one and the same. You," she pointed at Fai, "want to go to other worlds to avoid your own, you," she pointed at Kurogane, "want to return to your own world and you, " she turned to Sky, "want to travel to different worlds to restore this child's memory."

Sky nodded along with the others and the Witch sighed, causing his chest to tighten.

"That's a rather tall order for one of you, no, for all three of you," she glanced at them, "alone, even if you offer the most precious things you own, it would not be enough."

Kurogane scowled and Fai looked worried, but the Witch continued, "However, together, you may just be able to afford it."

Just them, a man came running up to Yuuko, holding a white bunny like creature with large ears and another one with a blue earring and black in color.

The Witch took the white one, which was barely big enough to fit in her palm," This young one's name is Mokona Modoki. He will help you on your journey by taking to the different worlds. There is no way to determine which world you will end up in, so you will have to be patient for your wish. But, first, you must pay a price.

"What price?" Kurogane growled.

"You must give up your sword," she pointed at him.

"NO WAY!" the man yelled.

"You realize I'm the only person who can get you out of here?"

"THAT'S GOTTA BE A LIE!"

"It's all true!" Fai yelled from the sidelines.

"You're kidding," Kurogane sweat-dropped and Fai giggled.

"So, what will it be?" the witch smiled.

"DAMMIT!" Kurogane swore as he thrust his sword out towards her, "when I am free from this curse, I'm coming back for it!"

The Witch handed it over to her assistant and the turned to Fai, "You must give up your marking."

"I don't suppose this staff would do instead?" Fai said smiling.

"No."

Fai sighed and but agreed after a while and the markings floated off his back and into the assistant's hands.

Lastly, the woman turned to Sky, "What about you? Are you ready to hand over the most precious thing you have to offer?"

Sky nodded, "Yes."

The Witch smiled, "You realize I haven't told you the price?"

"Yes."

"I can just send you to worlds. Finding the fragments of the child's memories is something you'll have to do."

"Fine."

"I like your determination," she smiled and then turned serious, "your price is your relationship."

The Sky's eyes widened in shock, "My price? But how?"

"You value your relationship with him the most, so that is your price. Even if you restore all his memories, your relationship will never be the same. It is all a matter of love. What does he mean to you?"

Sky looked down at Bridge and held him closer and closed his eyes, remembering happier times with his friend, "He's a childhood friend. My roommate and teammate and . . . someone who is precious to me."

Yuuko smiled sadly, "I see. However, if you accept Mokona, that relationship will end. Even is you restore all his memories, he will never remember you, never know what you meant to him. That is my price, do you accept it?"

Sky looked down at Bridge and closed his eyes, "Let's go."

"Hmm?" Yuuko cocked an eyebrow.

Sky looked up at her, determination on his face, "I won't let Bridge die!"

Yuuko smiled and nodded, "There is no coincidence in this world, there is only fate, Hitsuzen, if you will. What brought you all together was also Hitsuzen."

Sky took in her words and looked at the lifeless body in his arms. _Hitsuzen… was this Hitsuzen as well?_

"You have been told by your High priest about the risks that you will face during this journey. There are many different worlds and not all of them contain feathers. Just look at these two," she motioned towards Kurogane and Fai, "just by their clothes, you can tell they came from different worlds. Just because you have found a friend in one country, does not mean you will find a friend in the next. Friends of yours from your own worlds may be your bitter enemies. Do you still want this?"

"YES!" Sky yelled.

"Courage, loyalty and determination, these are the qualities a person truly needs no matter what he does," she raised her hand and Mokona leaped off it, taking to the air, "it seems you are well provided with both."

Mokona's mouth opened wide and the travelers were swallowed and then they disappeared.

"I wish you four… the best of fortune on your journey."

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Sky felt like he was falling in a dark abyss with no end. he looked down – or rather up since he was upside-down - and saw that Bridge was no longer in his arms but falling alongside him. A sphere of red flames came towards them and Sky held Bridge close to his chest, turning around so as to protect him being burnt.

The sphere stopped a couple of feet away and Sky saw that it had two eyes, "What are you?"

_You possess the magical flame,_ it said in a deep solemn voice_, you are the one I have been searching for_. Sky didn't know what it meant by that but still listened. _I can give you great power, but before I do, I need to know, what you will do with that power?_

Sky thought back to that one time he had seen Bridge smile at him when he had helped him after a fight with Grumm. Bridge had made a mistake which had resulted in the monster escaping and Cruger had chewed him out for that. Bridge had gone back to his room and Sky had found him crying there. After reassuring him that Cruger was just in a foul mood and didn't mean what he had said, Bridge had given him a dazzling smile which immediately melted most of the walls he had constructed around his heart. If he didn't get the feathers and wake him, he would never see that smile again.

"I want to protect someone close to me. I need power to save him and to bring his smile back. Even if he'll never remember me."

The sphere melted away and went inside his body and Sky turned to see a bluish white sphere melt into Bridge. _You have a strong heart thinking only of the one you love. I can safely call you my master_.

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"Puu…" Sky opened his eyes to see a white fluffy bunny-like creature with a cloth leaning over his forehead.

"Bridge…?" the word slipped out of sky's mouth before he could stop it.

"He doesn't grab Mokona…" the thing's ears flattened against it's head as it had a sad expression, but then was picked up by gloved hands. Gloves. Bridge.

"BRIDGE!" Sky yelled and sat bolt upright.

"It looks like he's awake," the man with elbow length gloves, Fai, said.

Sky looked down to see that, even though he had been unconscious, he had still being clutching onto Bridge, as if afraid that someone would steal him. He looked up as the white thing flopped down in front of him.

"I'm Mokona Modoki! You can say Mokona!" it had a cheerful squeaky voice and Sky immediately smiled for the first time since the accident at Newtech city and saw that they were crouching behind old broken cars and buses.

A man with long brown hair was explaining the world to Kurogane and he turned to Sky, "I'm Sorata. Welcome to the world of Hanshin. Yuuko sent you, right?"

The Blue Ranger nodded and Sorata began to explain the entire world to him, "Here, each and every person is protected by a god we call the Kudan. Everyone's Kudan is different and it's strength depends on the strength of the person's heart. If you are a strong willed person or have a good personality, your Kudan can be on level one or special. These ruins are due to battle between a good team and a badteam. They also use Kudan for fighting."

The ground began to rumble and Sky looked up to see a group of people on their side with goggles while another group had Mohawks. The leader of the first group stepped up, "You are not welcome here! Leave this place at once!"

The second team simply raised their hands and beams of light shot out. Sky watched as they fought. It seemed like a normal battle in SPD, except the lasers were being fired from their hands rather than their blasters.

Suddenly he felt a hand grab his pants and turned around with a squeak to see Fai standing right behind him, "W-what are y-you doing?"

He showed him what was in his hand, "Is this what a piece of Bridge's memory looks like?" He held out a sparkling white feather with a black symbol in the centre.

Sky snatched it eagerly, "Yes!"

Mokona pointed at the feather, "I'll be able to tell you if the world we're in has a feather or not. That one there gave out a really big wave. If there is a feather Mokona will go like this!" Mokona's eyes suddenly widened and gave the travelers the shock of their lives.

Sky moved to place it on Bridge, but a blast hit the ground near them and blew up a nasty wind which blew the feather out of his hand. The majority of the winds were blocked by a blue bird-like creature which protected them. Sky watched it float towards the center of the battle and didn't hesitate before running right behind it.

Kurogane snorted in disbelief, "Is he insane? Going into a battle without so much as a weapon or armor. . ." Fai turned towards Bridge who was propped up against a large piece of rubble.

"It seems that Bridge truly is the one he cares most about," he smiled.

Sky concentrated on trying to catch the feather, not even noticing that he had come too close to the battle. He managed to grab it from the air and smiled in accomplishment, before hearing a scream that made the hair on the back of his head stand up. He looked up to see two boys, around Bridge's age, cowering in the middle of the street as blasts hit the ground around them. One of them was wearing traditional Japanese clothes while the other was dressed in a casual suit.

Sky ran towards them, his Ranger instincts kicking in and one of the mohawked men saw him and aimed his blast at him, "This should teach him not to mess with the grown-ups!"

Sky covered them with his own body and saw the blast coming. He formed a shield, though he knew the blast was too powerful for him to block. Even as it came at him, he kept thinking, _I can't die! Bridge needs me! I have to live for him!_

The blast never hit him.

Sky slowly looked up from where his arms were crossed in front of his face and saw a shield of fire covering him and the boys.

A wolfish head came out of the fire and stared him in the eyes.

_I have come to save you, and the one you love._

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Heheh I like where this is going! Unlike Bridge the Vampire Slayer, I will be tossing in a couple twists here and there! Now we've witnessed the beginning of their journey and this new world is certainly… different! Can Sky survive it? Find out in the next chapter!

Next chapter: Kudan and the Hanshin Republic!


	4. Hanshin Republic

Disclaimer: Don't own SPD.

Episode Four: The Hanshin Republic.

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Sky stared into the fiery eyes of the thing that was shielding him and the boys. He remembered what had happened while they were traveling to the new world and gasped.

"You were the one in my dream," he whispered.

_I have come to save you. You have something that needs to be done, am I right?_ The thing spoke in a whisper.

"Yes. Thank you," Sky smiled and the fire shield turned into a wolf-like creature with a large horn jutting out of it's forehead. It was as big as a tiger and made completely of flames, but the flames did not burn Sky. It turned it's pale yellow eyes towards the fight between the teams and the Ranger automatically knew what to do.

Sky reacted quickly as another blast came at him, throwing up a shield which was made even stronger by the Kudan. He then raised his hand and pointed it at the man, flames bursting out of it and hitting him. The man was burnt, but was very much alive.

"He's good! Let's get out of here!" the leader yelled as he and his team retreated.

"Not bad. You're good," Another voice spoke from behind him, but this one had no malice in it.

Sky turned to see the leader of the group with the goggles stand on a broken bus nearby. He was a young man with a bandana and goggles, with long white hair tied back with a few bangs falling on his forehead.

"I'm Shogo, and you are?" he pointed at Sky.

"I'm Sky," the Ranger kept his guard up and the wolf crouched down., ready for any attack.

"You've got some skills," Shogo stretched his arm to the side and Sky saw a water stream gush out and form into a being that resembled a large manta-ray. "My Kudan works water and yours fire. This will be interesting."

_Kudan?_ Sky wondered.

Suddenly, sirens were heard and one of the men called out, "Shogo, the cops!"

The leader sighed and his Kudan disappeared, "We'll meet again."

Sky looked at the boys who were behind him and staring in shock. He crouched down next to them, "Are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah, thanks," the boy in the formal suit stammered.

Sky smiled and then remembered the feather he was still clutching and ran to where Bridge and the others were, not hearing the boy say something behind him.

Sky ran behind the bus and quickly crouched down next to Bridge. The feather floated out of his hands and was immediately absorbed into Bridge's chest.

Sky felt his forehead and was relieved to note that Bridge felt much warmer than before, "His memory. I was able to get one back to him."

Fai smiled, "It was stuck to your clothes, oddly."

Sky grinned, "When his feathers were scattering, by coincidence, one of them stuck to my clothes!"

"I wouldn't say that," Fai grinned, "remember what the witch said? There is no coincidence. Therefore, I'd say, without thinking, you grabbed the feather on your own," Fai looked at Bridge and Sky immediately hugged him closer.

"In order to save this child."

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"What you saw, the beast of fire, was your Kudan, Sky," Sorata informed him as he led them to his house.

"What is this Kudan?" Sky asked as he looked around while carrying Bridge.

"I'll explain it to you once we get to my home. That's a rather long explanation," Sorata grinned.

"How's Mokona?" Sky asked as he remembered that the little white creature had been unconscious when he had returned with the feather.

"He'll be fine. The winds just knocked him out," Fai grinned as he carried Mokona.

"That blue bird, was that one of your Kudan?" Kurogane grumbled.

"Yes, that was mine," Sorata grinned, "we're home!"

Sky looked up and gasped. The house was two storey high and like a normal Japanese home.

"It's great!' Sky grinned.

"Thank you! Only me and my wife live here, so we have plenty of room! Plus, I owe Yuuko for introducing me to my wife, so this is the least I can do!" Sorata smiled and then walked in with the others.

"This is my wife Arashi," he gestured to a young woman with long straight black hair and dark eyes. She smiled at them and promptly led them to a large empty room.

"I'll give you some more futons for you to sleep," she bowed and went to fetch them.

Sky put Bridge down on the futon which was already there and covered him with a blanket. He smiled and then leaned down, kissing Bridge softly on the forehead.

Arashi brought in some more futons as well as some tea and Sorata got down to explaining.

"First things first, I think I should tell you where you are. This is the world of the Hanshin Republic!" Sorata grinned.

"The Hanshin Republic?" Sky took a sip of the warm tea and it immediately warmed him up.

"Yup! If you're looking for the feathers, the Hanshin Republic is the best place cause everyone is very nice here! Aside from Kudan battles, no one fights against each other."

"What are these Kudan? They sound like a crucial part of this world," Fai smiled.

"They are. No person in this world is without one. Kudan are the Gods of this world. They protect everyone here. My theory is that the Kudan have an everlasting love for the people, they protect them!" Sorata smiled.

"My Kudan was one of fire…" Sky remembered, "I dreamed about it."

"Your Kudan attached itself to you the moment you came here, That's why you had that dream," he nodded.

"What about those who were battling earlier? Who were they?" Sky frowned.

"The ones in the mohawks were a team that wanted to take over the district. They're the bad guys. The good guys were the ones with the goggles, they make sure no bad stuff happens in their district. Their leader, Shogo, is rumored to have a Special-level Kudan."

"Special-level?"

"The Kudan are rated according to their strength, there's a fourth-level, the weakest one, and then it goes you to third, second, first and special."

"How is their strength determined?'

"A Kudan's strength depends upon the strength of character of a person. The stronger your character, the stronger the Kudan."

"Huh?" Sky looked confused at that and Arashi smiled.

"It depends upon your heart. If you are a strong person, strong in here," she pointed to her heart, "your Kudan will be just as strong."

"MEEKO!" Mokona suddenly bounced out of Fai's arms and onto Kurogane's head.

"GET OFF ME!" the ninja roared and tried to grab the white, fluffy thing, Mokona jumped onto sky's head and then into his lap.

"Mokona sensed a feather earlier!' he squeaked,

"You did?! Where is it?" Sky asked.

"Don't know. Mokona felt it before Mokona got knocked out. Sorry…" the thing's ears drooped.

"It's okay… please inform me when you sense it again, okay?" Sky smiled.

"Mokona will do Mokona's best!" Mokona twirled around on it's toes.

"Sorata-san, can you tell us more about this country?" Fai said politely and Sky remembered what Bridge had taught him about honorifics.

"Fai-san?" he said hesitantly.

"Yes, Sky-kun?" Fai smiled.

"Um, do you use honorifics in your world?"

"Yes, do you use them in yours?"

"In some parts of the world, yes, but not in mine," Sky stammered.

"Well, if you want to use the honorifics, you can," Fai reassured him.

"Thank you. Can I call you 'Fai-san'?"

"Of course!"

Sky glanced over at Kurogane who looked away with a scowl.

"What about in your world, Mr. Black?" Fai smiled teasingly.

"I AM NOT MR. BLACK! I'm Kurogane!" Kurogane roared.

"Do they?" Fai ignored the outburst.

"Yes," Kurogane growled.

"Fine," Sky nodded and turned is attention to Sorata.

"The Hanshin Republic is a very friendly place. Except for when our baseball team loses. They are slightly…odd. They hate losing, they never get to the point they'll attack if you're not paying attention and they throw themselves in the river!" Sorata laughed.

"Despite all that, they are really good people," Arashi smiled and looked first at Bridge and then at Sky, "May I call him Bridge?"

"Yes," Sky nodded.

"Bridge's feathers are a source of great power and if they fall into the wrong hands, they will be a cause of a fight," she said sadly.

"It's better if you are looking for the feather here, rather than a hostile country," Sorata nodded and the yawned. "That's all for today. It's best if you sleep for now. You have a long day ahead of you."

"Thanks, Sorata-san," Sly smiled as Sorata and Arashi left the room. He turned to see Fai annoying Kurogane and sat down next to Bridge, holding onto his hand gently.

After a few minutes of silence, Fai raised his hand, "We should search the town. Mokona already said he senses a feather here."

Sky nodded and then Kurogane spoke up, "Search or don't search, that's up to you." Sky and Fai looked over at him and he continued, "It has nothing to do with me. Don't expect me to risk my neck for you or help you. I won't do it." 

Sky nodded, a determined look on his face, "Right. That's my job here."

Kurogane looked shocked at his response but hid it quickly but was inwardly smiling slightly, _I could get to like this guy_, he thought.

"Kuro, you are so serious!" Fai giggled.

"Are you going to help him?" Kurogane ignored the tease with some difficulty.

"Sure, as long as it doesn't endanger my life, I'll help! What about you?" Fai looked at Kurogane, who in turn, looked at Mokona.

"If I wanted to leave, white pork bun, would you-" he started, but Mokona shook his head.

"No. Mokona will not leave… until Mokona finds the feather!" Mokona hopped over to Sky.

"Thank you," Sky smiled.

"Sky-kun, when you were saving those boys, something blue came out of your hands, and not because of the Kudan," Fai remembered.

"That was my special ability. I can create shields and force-fields by using my mind and hands. Bridge has a power due to which he can read auras and minds if he's in contact with the person. Occasionally, he's been able to see into the future as well," Sky explained.

"He's a Psychic?'

"Yes. He used to wear gloves to control them earlier, but his control has increased, so he doesn't use them anymore."

"I think we should all go to bed now. We have a long day ahead of us," Fai suggested and promptly laid down on one of the futons. Mokona hopped across the room and snuggled into Bridge's blankets next to him

Sky opted to stay besides Bridge's bedside and stayed awake up till the middle of the night, holding his hand.

He continued to stay aware of his surroundings and glanced around at his new companions. Sky couldn't believe how much his world had changed in one day.

At first, he was just going to guard the ruins with Bridge and now all of a sudden, he was on a race with people from a world he had never even heard off. What was first going to be a day with two friends catching up, now had turned into a chase through worlds for feathers which Bridge needed if he was going to live.

Sky smiled as he remembered what the first feather. It had been a bright white, symbolizing the pureness in Bridge's soul. But that smile faded quickly as he thought about what would have happened if they hadn't found that feather.

What hurt worst was the fact that Bridge had been about to tell him about his feelings in the ruins, but that was never going to happen now. Now, Bridge wouldn't even remember having been friends with Sky, let alone remember his feelings for the Ranger.

"Go to sleep," Sky started when Kurogane's voice came from behind him. He had assumed the ninja had been asleep but he had apparently not been, "Get some sleep. If you stay up, you'll be too tired to give your full effort in the search tomorrow."

Sky nodded at him and then settled down, wrapping his arms around his knees and falling asleep almost instantly. 

If he had stayed awake for a few minutes longer, he would have seen Bridge open his eyes with a soft moan and sit up. He would have seen him look around his surroundings, his eyes widening when it landed on Sky's sleeping figure and then to his hand which felt very warm and comforting. He would have seen Bridge fall asleep again with a smile, his psychic powers telling him that these people were safe and were his friends.

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Sorry that this chapter is so short, but it was mainly to explain the world to the readers. Next chapter will have tons more action, I promise! Well, I'm off for the weekend, so reviews will be replied to on Monday!

Next chapter: Kudan!


	5. Kudan Battles

Disclaimer: Do you see this stuff on TV?

Episode five: Kudan Battles!

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_Who are you?_

Sky was floating a dark abyss with nothing but the light of his Kudan to guide him about.

_Who are you?_

The question repeated itself in his mind. Sky wheeled around, trying to find the source.

_Who are you?_

Sky closed his eyes and heard the voice coming from somewhere near him. He looked to his right and opened his eyes, to see a soft pale blue light steadily growing stronger. Sky could somehow feel wariness and fear from the orb and couldn't help but feel a need to calm it.

_I'm a friend_, he thought and the light seemed to brighten even further. It continued to shine brightly and Sky felt warmth coming from the sphere, increasing with its brightness and then…

_**BRRRIIIINNNNGGGG!!!**_

Sky let out a yell as a loud ringing sound came from somewhere near him and clutched at his heart, which was beating very fast. He glanced around as he remembered where he was and saw Mokona playing around with the ringing alarm clock.

"Mokona can't get it to turn off! It hurts Mokona's ears!" the small creature squeaked as it wrestled the clock to the ground.

Sky let out a small chuckle before taking the alarm clock and quickly shutting it off. Mokona let out a small sigh and then grinned mischievously.

He glanced about and then noticed Kurogane trying to go back to sleep. It let out a loud cheer and hopped onto the ninja's spiky hair, "KURO-CHAN!"

"THAT'S KUROGANE! AND GET OFF MY HEAD!" the dark ninja roared as he grabbed Mokona.

Sky laughed at the antics of the fighting twosome and saw Fai stretch with a yawn.

"Morning, Fai-san," Sky said politely.

"Good morning, Sky-kun! Have a nice sleep?" Fai said cheerily, reminding Sky of another certain someone who was unbelievably perky in the morning.

"Yes, thank you," he answered and Sorata and Arashi came in at that point.

"Hey there! Sleep well?" Sorata said cheerily.

"Yes, thank you so much!" Fai said just as cheerily.

Sky smiled as he watched Fai and Sorata speak cheerily. It reminded him of the mornings when he, Bridge and Syd were the only B-squad cadets. Bridge and Syd would be sickeningly cheerful in the mornings while Sky would grumble and they would try their best to cheer him up.

"Well, we're gonna go get breakfast ready, get changed and be down in twenty minutes," Sorata nodded, "Fai, Kurogane, there are some spare clothes form this world for you in the other room. Sky, your clothes are like this world's anyway."

Sky nodded and watched as Fai and Kurogane walked out of the room. Well, Fai walked out, Kurogane was chasing Mokona out. He sat back down next to bridge and gently took his hand in his and his eyes widened.

"It's… warm?" Sky said in a mixture of shock and relief. He curled his fingers around Bridge's and felt his forehead. Where as before, Bridge was still somewhere between cold and warm, his body temperature was now perfectly normal.

"Thank goodness, he seems to be getting better," Sky smiled and then pressed a gentle kiss to Bridge's forehead, "Please wake up soon, Bridge."

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"There should be enough for lunch in there," Sorata pressed a small bag of coins into Sky's hands as he and his companions prepared to leave.

"Why is he giving it to the kid?" Kurogane grumbled, dressed in a black T-shirt and jeans. Sky was wearing what he had been earlier and Fai was wearing a white shirt with blue jeans.

"Cause he looks most trustworthy!" Sorata winked and Kurogane glared at him.

"Thank you Sorata-san," Sky smiled and then set off with Fai, Kurogane and Mokona. He had left Bridge in the care of Arashi, a woman he had just met, but trusted.

"So where do we go now?" Sky wondered after a couple hours as they looked around to the different buildings. Mokona was sure there was a feather nearby, but he didn't know where.

"HEY!" a young voice came from behind them and they turned to see a young boy running up to them.

"Can we help you?" Sky asked as the boy stopped in front of him.

"Don't you remember me? You saved me from the Kudan battle yesterday!" the boy said.

"Oh yeah!" Sky remembered and then frowned, "sorry, but I didn't catch your name."

"It's Masayoshi," the boy nodded and held out his hand.

"I'm Sky, this is Fai-san and Kurogane-san," Sky shook his hand and gestured to the others.

"I owe you for saving my life, so is there anything I can do for you?" Masayoshi asked eagerly.

Sky was about to decline when- "Do you know a good place to eat?" a squeaky voice chirped.

"Yup, there are a lot of good places here!" Masayoshi grinned at Mokona, who grinned back.

"Lead us there!" the creature grinned.

"Sure! Come on!" Masayoshi grinned and he led the traveler through the crowd.

"What were you doing in that battle?" Sky asked.

"I was passing by when it started. Wrong place, wrong time, I guess," he shrugged.

"What about that boy who was with you? Is he alright?"

"What boy?"

"The one who was wearing that odd cap."

"Oh!" Masayoshi grinned, "That wasn't a boy! It was my Kudan!"

"What?" Sky stopped and stared at him.

"Yup! Watch," Masayoshi concentrated and a boy in traditional Japanese clothing appeared next to him and disappeared.

"Cool," Sky grinned.

"Not as cool as yours. Mine is a fourth level, the weakest," Masayoshi sighed.

Sky was about to say something sympathetically when a bunch of men with mohawks stopped their way. Sky looked past them to see what looked like their leader standing a few feet away.

"Are you Sky?" the leader, a pudgy man, spoke up, pointing at Kurogane.

The real Sky stepped up, "I am."

The leader looked incredulous, "A little kid?"

Sky bristled at being called a kid but ignored it, keeping an eye on the other men, just incase they decided to attack again.

The leader spoke again, "I'm offering you the chance to join my team. You're pretty strong; I'll even make you my right hand."

Sky shook his head, "I decline."

"I'm not gonna let you join Shogo's team!" the leader growled.

"I'm not joining him, nor am I joining you. I have my own affairs so…" Sky turned his back on the man and began to walk away.

The leader looked very angry at this answer and then summoned his Kudan which looked like a giant Crab-like monster, "So you're planning to start your own team! Well, I'm going to take you out right here, right now."

Sky jumped forward and flipped away as the tail of the other's Kudan sliced towards him and ducked. The tail slashed through a rock pillar and it fell to pieces. Sky stared at it in shock; _it sliced right through… _he thought.

"Be careful! That Kudan can sharpen any part of its body to an edge as sharp as a knife! It's a level one! Though the leader doesn't look like much, his Kudan is one of the fastest around!" Masayoshi yelled in warning.

Sky crouched down, waiting, but was pushed back by Kurogane before he could be attacked, "I've been pretty bored here. I'll take you on."

Sky was shocked at the fact that Kurogane wanted to fight his battle and was concerned as well, "But you don't have any weapon!"

The ninja looked back at him, "I don't need one. That sword was magic, it was special. I needed it to kill the monsters in my Japan."

"So what level is your Kudan?" the leader smirked.

"I don't know, I don't care," Kurogane sneered, "come and get me."

The Kudan attacked him, but Kurogane jumped back until he was up against a pillar and ducked, the Kudan slicing through it. He leaped up but wasn't fast enough to avoid the next attack which slammed him into a pillar, bringing down part of the roof on him.

"Kurogane-san, watch out!" Sky yelled ready to help but Fai held him back. Sky looked at the blonde man, who smiled.

"If you try to help him, he'll get really mad. Besides, he's fine!" Fai pointed at rubble and a dark figure emerged from it.

Kurogane stepped out, completely covered in cuts and bruises but didn't seem to flinch at all.

The leader was slightly shocked but hid it, "Where's your Kudan? You're probably so weak you're ashamed to bring it out!"

The ninja stood on top of the rubble, "Your Kudan may have strong armor, but it has a weakness. If I had a sword, it would be in pieces right now."

No sooner did he say those words, a sudden wind blew up and droplets of water began to fall from the sky. The blue water swirled behind him and formed a large dragon over thirty feet long with an impressive wing span. It had large claws, a tiger's tail and a bright red jewel in its forehead.

"What?!" Kurogane stared in shock, "you appeared in my dream . . ." The dragon stared at him and then turned into a massive broad sword as big as the ninja, "You're asking me to wield you?" he grinned, "I get it. You like a good punch up too."

The Kudan came at Kurogane again but he was more than ready. "Hama Ryu O Jin!!" he leaped up and sliced the Kudan in half.

"NO!" the leader fell to the ground in pain. "You're a part of Sky's team, aren't you?" he pointed at Kurogane and pointed shakily.

The ninja looked furious at the idea, "I'm on nobody's team. In all my life I've served under only one person." Kurogane thought of his princess and his devotion to her, "And that's Princess Tomoyo!"

Sky had to smile at the ninja's obvious devotion to his princess. The tone of Kurogane's voice had the same amount of love Sky felt for Bridge. He thought about Bridge all the way back to Sorata's home and then immediately went to bridge's bedside.

"Did you find the feather?" Arashi asked softly.

"No. Mokona said that the wave keeps appearing and disappearing," Sky sighed.

"Hmm, that means that whatever has the feather appears and disappears as well…" she put a finger to her lips in thought.

"Do you think it's in a Kudan?" Fai asked from where he was sitting.

"Yes. A Kudan is the only thing that can appear and disappear," Arashi nodded.

"Mokona?" Sky looked over at the tiny thing.

"Mokona sensed a feather in the battle when we first came to this world, but there were a lot of Kudan there!" Mokona's ears drooped.

"It would have to be a very strong Kudan," Arashi supplied.

"What makes you say that?" Kurogane cocked an eyebrow as he applied some antiseptic to some of his cuts.

"Bridge's feathers contain a tremendous amount of power, as I said before. They are a part of his soul itself and this gives them more power than we can imagine, especially if he feels a strong emotion at the time of the memory."

"Bridge feels everyone's emotions all the time. His feathers therefore have a lot of power," Sky nodded in understanding.

"Hmm," Fai rubbed his chin and then raised a finger, "my bet is on Shogo."

Sky nodded, "I think so too."

"Well, tomorrow, we can continue our search, for now, let's get some sleep!" Fai yawned and he and the others, except Sky and Mokona, left the room.

Sky gently reached down and took one of Bridge's hands in his and closed his eyes as he remembered something Bridge had told him about this when they had been children.

**Flashback**

"**Are you sure you're okay?" twelve-year-old Sky sat next to Bridge's bed, looking at him worriedly.**

"**Yeah, Ms. Manx says I just have a fever," Bridge grinned slightly as he let out another sneeze.**

"**Well, I hope you get better soon, Carson," Sky muttered.**

"**Sky!" Bridge fumed, "how many times have I told you!" he burrowed completely into the covers and pulled them over him head, "call me Bridge!"**

"**Ah, sorry… Bridge," Sky grimaced.**

"**Better," Bridge smiled at him and then let out yet another cough. He held out a gloved hand to Sky and smiled shyly.**

"**What?" Sky looked confused.**

"**My father used to say that if you're sick and someone holds your hand, you get better soon," Bridge smiled tiredly.**

**Sky smiled at that and took Bridge's hand in both of his, "I'll stay here as long as you want me to, Bridge. I promise."**

**Bridge smiled and closed his eyes, "This way, the first thing I'll see when I wake up is you, Sky."**

**Sky simply smiled as he listened to Bridge's breathing slow down and even out.**

End flashback.

Sky held Bridge's hand tighter and thought, as he fell asleep, _I will find Bridge's feathers! I won't let him die!_

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The next day, Sky, Fai, Kurogane and Mokona were out looking for the feather yet again.

"This is so boring! I wish something would happen!" Kurogane grumbled and then all travelers let out a yelp as Masayoshi's Kudan poked out of a wall.

"There you are!" Masayoshi panted as he ran up to them.

"What was your Kudan doing?" Sky asked as Mokona jumped from his head to Masayoshi's.

"My Kudan can track down anyone he's met before. I was using him to find you."

"That's pretty cool!' Sky grinned.

"Yeah, but-" Masayoshi was cut off when a massive wind blew up and a large bird with a long beak swooped down on the group and pick up Masayoshi and Mokona, who was on his head.

"Masayoshi-kun!" Sky yelled as the bird flew off. A note landed on his head and he opened it.

_Meet me at the Hanshin Castle at noon_.

Sky reread it and then turned to Fai and Kurogane, "Look at this!"

Sky froze as the two of them started talking together and then they froze as they realised the same thing he did.

They could hear what the other was saying, but they couldn't understand the words…

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Uh-Oh! What's wrong? Find out in the next chapter: Fai's Kudan!


	6. Fai's Kudan

**Disclaimer: Don't own SPD! Or Tsubasa Chronicles.**

**A/N: (headdesk) Darn it! I am so (headdesk), so (headdesk), so (headdesk), so (headdesk), so (headdesk), so sorry about the long delay! I am so bad! I left you people! I apologise! P.S: When Sky, Fai and Kurogane are speaking in the unknown language, it'll be in italics like **_this_

**Episode VI: Fai's Kudan!**

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**Sky stared at Fai and Kurogane with an expression akin to horror on his face. Fai and Kurogane were speaking in a language unfamiliar to him and judging by the looks on their faces, they had no idea what each other was saying as well.**

**Kurogane stuck a finger in his ear and tried to find what was wrong while Fai cocked his head from side to the other and looked about. Sky kept reading the note and looked around for Hanshin Castle, as well as trying to figure out what had happened.**

**Fai shrugged, "**_It's not as if my ears have gone bad..._**"**

**Kurogane growled, "**_But for some reason, I don't understand the words..._**"**

**Sky frowned and clutched the letter in his hands, "It's not as if we went anywhere..." Realization dawned on him at the same time as it did on Fai and Kurogane, judging by their wide-eyed expressions and they said at the same time:**

**"MOKONA!"**

**While they considered the possibilty, at Hanshin Castle, a young woman in her early twenties with waist-long, bright red hair was looking up skeptically at the boy who was bound to one of the roof's edges and was crying while the white, round thing bound next to him swung joyfully with every gust of wind, singing.**

**"Are you **_**sure**_** that's him?" she said doubtfully in a melidious voice. The men behind her nodded eagerly.**

**"Yes Primera-chan! That's him alright!" one of them spoke up.**

**"That-" she pointed at the still wailing Masayoshi, "is the 'great fighter' Shogo-kun was talking about?"**

**"Yes! He was with the dark spiky haired guy and the tall skinny guy. Shogo-san said that the youngest in the group was Sky!" the man nodded again.**

**Primera looked up at the boy again and sighed, ssweat-dropping, "Shogo-kun sure is weird..."**

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**"The Hanshin Castle is this way!" Sky yelled to Kurogane and Fai as they ran through one of the parks. At their garbled responses and blank stares, he sighed, "I knew they wouldn't understand me."**

**Fai grabbed his sleeve, pulling him to a stop and pointed up at the roof of the fifteen storey castle. Sky looked at it carefully, noticing the resemblance to the temples he and the rangers had seen in Kyoto. The architecture definitely seemed to have originated from Japan. On further observation, he saw Masayoshi and Mokona dangling off the edge of the roof, bound to it only by some rope.**

**"Masayoshi-kun!" Sky couldn't help but yell out.**

**"How'd you get up there?" Fai asked, waving. He was cheerfully oblivious to the fact that they couldn't hear him.**

**"You look like you're having fun," Kurogane folded his hands behind his head, "Or at least the white thing does."**

**Sky spun about and Kurogane and Fai pointed at each other in shock.**

**"I can understand you!" they said in unison and Fai rubbed his chin in thought.**

**"So it **_**is**_** Mokona's doing..." he said in realization, "Mokona has been acting as a translator for us all this time...amazing. Mokona not carries us to different dimensions, but also makes sure that we can communicate."**

**Sky took off in direction of the castle, Kurogane and Fai following him. He was more concerned about Masayoshi and Mokona's well-being rather than this new revelation.**

**"Does this mean whenever we get seperated from it, we can't communicate?!" Kurogane asked.**

**"Yup!" Fai said with a laugh.**

**"WHAT A PAIN!"**

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**"What is with these people?" Sky scowled as he tried to make his way past the humungous number of men who was hooting in front of the Hanshin Castle.**

**"Don't they have anything better to do?" Kurogane mimicked Sky's scowl as another man stepped on his foot. "SON OF A-"**

**"Now, now, Kuro-kun!" Fai's cheery voice chided as he ducked and weaved through the crowd with ease, his lanky body coming to his advantage.**

**The trio finally managed to break through the crowd and clambered onto the makeshift stage where the people were all facing. Sky took out the letter, unfolded it and held it out in front of the crowd.**

**"WHO WROTE THIS LETTER?" he yelled.**

**"That would be me," a melidious female voice came from the castle. Sky turned to see the young woman with bright red hair smiling at him.**

**"Who's that?" Kurogane scowled.**

**"You don't know her? You must live under a rock!" a man shouted, "that's Primera-chan! She's the greatest rock-star idol in the country!"**

**Sky kept his focus on the matter at hand, "Please let Masayoshi-kun and Mokona down!"**

**Primera's face took on a confused look and she pointed up, "You mean that **_**isn't**_** Sky?"**

**Sky sweatdropped, "**_**I'm**_** Sky!"**

**"YOU IDIOTS!" she screamed at the men who cowering behind her. She let out a sigh and smiled again, "No matter."**

**"Let them down!" Sky pleaded.**

**"If you want to get them down, you've gotta fight me first!" Primera held out her hand and pink energy emitted from it, taking the form of a mike.**

**"These Kudan can some as everything!" Fai specualted.**

**Sky prepared to summon his Kudan as well, but Fai grabbed his shoulder, "Fai-san?"**

**"I'll take care of this. You need to find Bridge's feather, am I right?" Fai smiled.**

**"But-"**

**"My Kudan is willing to help," Fai interrupted and stepped forward. He closed his eyes and white energy poured from his body, taking the form of a large phoenix which spread it's wings and curled them around Fai. the wind began to pick up and Fai began to slowly levitate off the ground, until he was soaring uptil the roof of the Castle, in front of Primera.**

**"If I can't fly neither should you!" she screamed into her mike.**

**Fai smiled and his eyes widened as large letters of the words she had been saying came at him. The was a loud explosion and a cloud of smoke surrounded the wizard.**

**"LOOK OUT!" Sky yelled.**

**"Look up there," Kurogane jerked his head in emphasis.**

**Sky looked up to see Fai safely floating about, chuckling merrily, "How..."**

**"That was a surprise," Fai grinned at Primera, "care to see if you get lucky again?"**

**Primera huffed and raised the mike to her lips again, "I think I do."**

**Fai dodged the letters easily and ducked and weaved his way closer to the pop-star. Down on the ground, Sky stared in complete disbelief at the sheer agility and grace Fai possessed, but with every move, realization seeped into his eyes until he was watching the fight passively.**

**"Looks can be deceiving," Kurogane growled, "look at that damn grin. The mage is a combat veteran."**

**"I thought so," Sky nodded.**

**"That doesn't surprise you?" the ninja cocked an eyebrow at him.**

**"It did at first. But now that I think about it, there are so many clues in the way Fai-san carries himself and the way he looks so comfortable in his body. He doesn't seem like much, but he's just as skilled, if not more, than the rest of us," Sky nodded.**

**"You both have faces that say 'Ignore me, I'm a fool', but I can see through it," Kurogane smirked. "You both are strong. I've foought with Kudan so I know...that even though you're using the Kudan's power, your muscles are your own body muscles."**

**"Meaning Fai-san's ability to fly and dodge like he's as light as paper is his **_**own**_** ability?" Sky wondered.**

**"Yup."**

**"I'd still like to help him anyway I can!" Sky clenched his fist.**

**"STOP MOVING!" Primera screamed at her inablility to hit Fai as he perched on top of a long flag pole.**

**"If I let you hit me, it might hurt!" Fai smiled.**

**"Well, then I'll take you out in my own way!" the mike in her hand began to change form as it elongated into a mike stand, similar to the ones used in old radio stations. "IS EVERYONE HAVING FUN?!" she screamed.**

**Fai's eyes widened at the enlarged letters and he managed to dodge some of them, before that letters of the last word connected and caused him to crash into a tree.**

**"Fai!" Mokona squeaked out in concern.**

**"I'm alright!" a hand came out of the leaf cover and waved as Fai pulled himself to his feet. He looked at Primera, "That actually hurt!"**

**She flared with anger, "YOU WON'T BEAT ME!"**

**The letters came at Fai again, but this time, he leapt up and ran along the letters at Primera. The pop-star was too surprised by this move to notice that Fai had reached her and dipped her like they were dancing.**

**"I really don't want to be th cause of harm to such a beautiful young girl," Fai said, "so why don't you stop this?"**

**Primera stared at him in shock, "I-I-" she closed her eyes and screamed, "THIS IS SO NOT FAIR!" The mike stand had been pointing upward and the words flared out, destroying th part of the roof where Masayoshi and Mokona were hanging. She stared at the mike-stand in horror.**

**Masayoshi screamed as he began to fall towards the ground, his Kudan clinging to him tightly, trying to save his master.**

**Sky ran towards them, summouning his Kudan, when suddenly, a blue Kudan appeared beneaht them and caught them with it's broad body, dropping them off on a more stable part of the castle. Sky sighed in relief and then recognized the Kudan. he turned around to see Shogo and his team standing there behind him.**

**"Sorry about this whole mess," Shogo sighed and glared at Primera, "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?! DESTROYING OUR NATURAL HERITAGE LIKE THAT?!"**

**Primera flared, "YOU DESTROY BUILDINGS EVERY TIME YOU BATTLE! YOU'RE NOT ONE TO TALK ALL HIGH AND MIGHTY TO ME, YOU RETARD!"**

**Shogo twitched.**

**"What is going on?" Kurogane muttered as Fai descended next to him.**

**"Don't know," Fai shrugged.**

**"You never come and see me anymore! All you care about are your battles. So I got some guys to get 'Sky'," she pointed at Masayoshi," over here. I thought that you'd come to him all the time and me too..."**

**"You are so stupid. THEY LOOK NOTHING ALIKE!" Shogo pointed at the real Sky.**

**"I am right here," Sky sweatdropped.**

**"Sky!" a small voice squeaked out. The ex-Ranger turned around to see Mokona staring at him from his place next to Masayoshi.**

**"Your eyes..." Sky whispered.**

**"There's a feather really close by!" Mokona yelled.**

**Shogo sighed, drawing Sky's attention back to him, "I am so sorry for this mess. I didn't want anyone to get hurt over here. However," he looked at Sky, "I will admit that I'm rather curious about your Kudan. They draw their strenght from their owners heart, you know. What makes yours so special?"**

**Sky didn't answer, but simply stared at him, thinking about what Mokona had said. **_**The wave becomes stronger and weaker, meaning that it probably exerts most power when protecting it's owner. If that's the truth, then the only way to find the feather...is through battle.**_

**"Sky?"**

**Sky blinked and looked at Shogo, "I'm sorry. You sai something?"**

**"Yes. I want to take you on with my Kudan. Do you accept?" Shogo questioned.**

**Sky narrowed his eyes and set his jaw, "Yes..." a wheel of flames appeared next to him, yaking the form of his Kudan. Sky put one hand on it's head and patted it gently, "I accept your challenge."**

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**Next chapter: The battle with Shogo is on and both Kudans are giving it their all! The feather is nearby, but where is it? Find out in the next chapter: True Strenght!**


	7. Sky VS Shogo!

Disclaimer: I don't own them, dammit!

A/N: Yes, I know I haven't updated Talk Show! In a while, but I need to get back my funny. I can't seem to find anything funny to do for Talk Show! But back to this, the battle is on!

P.S: I dedicate this chapter to SkyTate18 for an awesome fic he's writing for me, pairing me with Bridge! You guys gotta check it out! The name is 'All I Want for Christmas is you'. ST18, I still owe you buddy!

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Sky stared at Shogo from the other platform, his Kudan curling around him, as he prepared himself for battle. It was time to find out if Shogo truly was the owner of the feather.

Shogo smirked and launched the first attack, a wave of water coming at Sky with amazing speed. Sky barely had time to react and barely managed to put up a flaming shield, turning the water to steam. He struck back with a blast of flames, which was doused by the Kudan's body,

"They're on equal footing," Fai noted as Sky and Shogo battled it out.

"It would seem so..." Kurogane said gruffly.

"Seems like Sky is a lot more powerful than either of us give him credit for," the wizard said softly.

"More powerful than we can imagine," Kurogane corrected. Fai looked at him with surprise as the ninja went on, "When I saw him and his friend, I felt a strong power coming from them both, more so from the other boy. Such power is probably the reason someone attacked them in the first place. It's dangerous in the wrong hands."

Fai smiled, "Then it's good we have someone like Sky-kun guarding it."

Sky managed to duck yet another blow from Shogo and this time, the wave went over his head, striking the roof above him, causing pieces of wood and rock to fall on the Blue Ranger.

The Kudan burnt away most of the rubble, but a large piece of concrete managed to escape and hurtled down at him.

"LOOK OUT!" Masayoshi screamed from above.

Sky reacted as per his instincts, kicking upward at the rock. It was a foolish maneuver, he knew, to try and kick a boulder about to crush you, but the unexpected happened.

The boulder crumbled to pieces.

Sky stared at the rubble and then at his foot in shock. He couldn't believe that one kick had shattered the massive concrete boulder, it was impossible.

"What's happened to me..." he whispered, staring at his hands. He suddenly remembered when his journey had first started, when they were in the cave. He remembered looking up at the exit from deep underground and the rush of power just before he made the jumps.

_Something happened to increase my power..._ Sky thought.

"You got lucky!" Shogo yelled and his Kudan unleashed a torrent of water at the Ranger, completely submerging him in the liquid.

Fai and Kurogane jumped back to higher ground to avoid the water as it sloshed towards them. Masayoshi looked from his spot above and had a clear view of the grounds, flooded with neck-deep water.

"This is terrible! Sky-kun will be washed away!" he muttered in a panic.

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While the battle went on and Masayoshi looked for Sky, Sorata continued to care for Bridge along with his wife.

"I heard there was a battle going on in the Hanshin Castle. They mentioned a boy who fits Sky-kun's description," Sorata informed Arashi.

"I hope he'll be okay. Shogo is a tough opponent," Arashi said with a frown.

"I'm sure he'll be fine! Sky-kun's strong enough to take him down!" he said with a grin.

"I hope you're right..." Arashi got up, "I'll get some washcloths."

"I'll help you," Sorata offered and left with her, neither of them noticing Bridge's calm face scrunch up with pain. He could feel worry coming from the couple, as well as pain of someone close to him. All of a sudden, the pain stopped, but the worry remained, causing Bridge to calm down into a fitful sleep again.

"Sky..." he murmured softly.

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"Where is Sky-kun?! I have to find him!" Masayoshi looked around, trying to spot Sky in the waters, frantic.

Mokona pointed with a small paw, "Sky is right there!"

Masayoshi stopped panicking as he saw Sky rise up from the water, surrounding by a globe of flames that stopped the attack from doing any damage to him.

Shogo also looked surprised at the unharmed state of his opponent, but was broken from his thoughts when a blast from Sky sent him reeling backwards. His Kudan stopped him from being seriously harmed, but he was now soaked and slightly burnt.

"Not bad," he grinned at Sky as the Ranger landed on a dry platform. "I've said it before, Kudan draw their strength from the owner's heart. The stronger their character, the stronger their determination, the stronger the Kudan. Your Kudan is fiercely loyal, plus incredibly strong. What makes your heart so strong?" Shogo cocked his head.

Sky closed his eyes, again picturing his time with Bridge, remembering his smiles, his jokes, his laughter, his uniqueness...

"I have something I must see through," Sky looked into Shogo's eyes, "I have a mission that has to be fulfilled. I want to save him and to do that, I have something to find."

"That someone must be really special then," Shogo smiled

"He is. My drive to protect him is what gives me strength even when I feel like I can't move," Sky's Kudan appeared at his feet again and he stroked it's head.

"Incredible..." Masayoshi slumped to his knees as he watched Sky in awe. The Blue Ranger never steered his gaze away from Shogo, awaiting his next move.

_He said he came from a different country and has only been here for a while, but look at the way he controls his Kudan!_ Masayoshi thought. _He's so strong! Much stronger than me... I want to be strong. Shogo said that power comes from the owner's heart, but is mine so weak? Can I be as strong as Sky-kun one day?_

The two titans struck again, this time with their fists, as Sky's flames met Shogo's water, diminishing the effect, but not the entire blow. They hopped away from each other and charged again, their attacks connecting.

Sky hopped back onto his perch, the Kudan uses it's greatest strength while protecting it's owner...

Shogo landed on his platform, stumbling slightly, I've never had to use this much power...

Sky raised his hand again with regret, flames encircling it, and launching a beam of light at Shogo. The leader had no time to react as the attack sent him hurling back.

"SHOGO-KUN!" Primera cried out from her perch on the roof.

"I'M FINE!" he yelled back and launched another powerful beam back at Sky. The Blue Ranger countered with his own attack, causing the beams to explode on contact. The power hit the roof above Masayoshi, Primera and Mokona, causing it to break down on them.

Primera screamed and held Mokona close as the roof began to fall on them. Masayoshi's first reaction was to run away, but he stamped down that urge and tried to shield them using his body.

_I can't run away, just t save myself!_ he thought furiously, _I can't! Not when there are people to protect! I have to be strong!_

A large heavy chunk of rock fell towards them.

"I HAVE TO BE STRONG!" he screamed.

A large hand closed over him and the others, shielding them from further harm. Masayoshi looked up to see his Kudan, only now even bigger than the Hanshin Castle! The hand scooped him up and Primera beat it with her fists, afraid of what would happen to him.

The Kudan glared at her and fired a powerful beam from it's mouth, breaking the rest of the roof and causing Primera and Mokona to fall.

"NO!" Sky screamed.

Shogo swooped beneath them and caught Primera in his arms as Mokona landed on his head. He took them to safer ground, not far from the castle and set them down.

"I was so scared, Shogo!" Primera cried, clinging to him.

"Me too. I mean, that Kudan is big!" Shogo patted her on the head.

Sky landed next to Kurogane and Fai and stared at the Kudan in shock as it fired it's beams everywhere, Masayoshi screaming at it to stop.

"SKY!" a small voice called out to him. He looked up to see Mokona staring at him, eyes wide open.

"The feather is in that Kudan!" Mokona pointed at the giant Kudan.

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Sky looked up at the massive Kudan as it fired beams everywhere, weighing his options. To go up against a Kudan with such great power was undoubtedly suicide, especially when it saw everyone as a threat to it's owner.

"You make one mistake and you're dead," Kurogane voiced his thoughts.

"I know," Sky nonetheless summoned his Kudan and the flames surrounded him., lifting him off the ground and towards the gigantic Kudan.

"I have to admire his determination," Fai smiled, "he doesn't care about himself, only about the person meaning the most to him. He's ready to risk life and limb just to return a feather."

Kurogane remained silent, but he was silently admiring the kid's determination and dedication.

"I'm beginning to see why that fire Kudan chose him," the wizard nodded.

Sky dodged yet another beam as he tried to get close enough to see the feather. Some of the Kudan's attacks came a little too close for comfort. He spotted something brightly shinging in the centre of the Kudan's chest and that was enough to distract him as a powerful swing from the Kudan's hand knocked him to the ground.

The flame managed to soften most of the blow, but it still left him dazed as the Kudan raised a fist. It was about to squash him, when a large blue dragon and a phoenix intervened, giving him enough time to escape.

"Yoo-hoo! Sky-kun!" Fai waved at the Ranger as his Kudan released a barrage of flames at the opponent.

"We decided you couldn't have all the fun," Kurogane smirked as his Kudan smashed into the other one.

"Apparently, Masayoshi-kun's Kudan received a massive power-up due to the feather and he can't control it. It makes sense that whenever Mokona sensed the feather, it was when Masayoshi-kun was in danger. The Kudan used the power of the feather to help it save it's master," Fai said quickly.

Sky was about to respond when suddenly, the Kudan released a barrage of blasts, causing all their Kudans to crash into the ground. That added to the fact that he was still recovering from that previous attack meant that Sky was pretty much unable to move as the Kudan drew nearer to him.

Meanwhile, in a familiar house, certain someone was moving restlessly in his cot, mumbling, "Sky..." in a worried whisper. He felt a jolt of pain that was not his own and his eyes snapped open, glowing a bight blue.

Sky closed his eyes as the blst came at him, only thinking about Bridge and how he had failed him. He had sworn to save him, but now, they were both going to die. I'm coming dad, Sky thought resignedly.

The blast never hit him.

The Blue Ranger opened his eyes and gaped as he saw a large green-blue dragon block of the attack. It was even bigger than Kurogane and Fai's Kudan with an impressive wing span and sharp claws. It turned it's head towards him and Sky noticed the eyes. A set of pale blue eyes.

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Yes, I'm leaving it her cause I'm evil! I'll leave it to you to guess whose Kudan that is. For the next chapter, Sky goes after the feather and he's gonna get it even if he dies in the process.


	8. Price is Paid

Disclaimer: NO!

A/N: Here's the next chapter! Bet you guys couldn't wait to find out whom that Kudan belonged to, huh?

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Sky stared at the large Kudan in pure shock and the first word that came out of his lips was, "Bridge?"

The Kudan gave him no response but simply turned back to the gigantic Kudan that was firing the beams and this time, let out a powerful beam of it's own which tore through the Kudan with ease.

_Whoa,_ Sky thought, still in awe of what was now definitely Bridge's Kudan. His own Kudan helped him get a safe distance away from the fight, but still close enough for him to spot the feather if it appeared.

Bridge's Kudan spread it's enormous wings and took slight, bombarding it's opponent with bolts of lightning. The other Kudan hurled a ball of fire at it and it barely dodged. The second blast would have hit it if it were not for Kurogane's Kudan knocking it back.

"Whose Kudan is that?" Kurogane growled as jumped to where Sky was with Fai.

"It's Bridge's..." Sky sad in awe.

"The unconscious boy?" Kurogane said incredously, "No way!"

"Are you sure?" Fai frowned.

"I wasn't sure myself, but then I saw it's eyes...the same as Bridge's," Sky nodded and smiled.

"They say the Kudan comes out when the owner is in danger. You don't think..." Kurogane left the sentence and Sky began to take on a more worried look.

"If Bridge-kun were indeed in trouble, the Kudan would be protecting him, not us," Fai smiled, "it would seem Bridge-kun sent his Kudan to save someone he cares deeply about in danger."

Sky chuckled, "That sounds like Bridge alright."

The Kudan took a strong hit which sent it reeling back, but in no time, it was back in action, hitting the Kudan in the side with it's tail. Masayoshi's Kudan growled and punched the other Kudan, knocking it to the ground.

"He's in trouble!" Kurogane growled, but Sky shook his head.

"Bridge is stronger than that. I know he is," the Blue Ranger made no motion to help and he was proven right when the dragon got up again and head-butted it's opponent hard enough to knock it back.

"Pretty strong Kudan, considering it's owner is comatose," Kurogane said with a hint of surprise.

"Kudan's depend upon the strength of their owner's character. Bridge might not be very strong physically, but he's got the strongest, biggest heart I've ever seen," Sky said with pride.

"Sounds like a person worth fighting for," Fai said and glanced at Kurogane, who nodded back. The two sent their own Kudans into the fray with Sky and soon, the battle was rapidly escalating.

Dodging the next blast, all four Kudans –Bridge, Kurogane, Fai and Sky –prepared to launch a greater attack. A multi-colored beam consisting of thunder, water, fire and wind surged forward and blew a gaping hole through the Kudan. Sky saw something glitter in it's chest before the hole sealed up again.

"The feather is in it's chest!" Sky yelled, "I'm going for it!"

"BE careful Sky-kun!" Fai yelled.

"You mess up even one step and you're dead," Kurogane advised.

"I'll be fine!" Sky yelled and, taking a stand on his Kudan's back, flew to Masayoshi's Kudan.

"Good luck..." Kurogane murmured and returned his attention to the battle at hand.

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Sky made his way in front of the Kudan without it noticing, since it was busy fending off the attacks of the others. He looked at the chest and, sure enough, the feather was barely visible, hidden deep inside the Kudan.

"Sky-kun!" a frightened voice called out to him and he looked to the side to see Masayoshi looking at him fearfully.

"You remember when I said that I was looking for something?" Sky asked, "I have found it, but it is in your Kudan. I need to get it back."

"You mean this?" Masayoshi pointed at the feather and Sky nodded, "If you come too close, my Kudan will kill you!"

"I have to get it," Sky was adamant.

"You don't understand, he's completely out of my control! I can't stop him!" Masayoshi yelled.

"You have to try. Either way, I must get that back," Sky went back a little before flying forward, plunging into the Kudan's chest, the flames of his Kudan providing some space for him to move. Sky was quickly nearing the feather when-

Masayoshi cried out in pain as he felt what his Kudan experienced and suddenly, flames sprouted out of the hole where Sky was and the were not his Kudan's.

"My Kudan is sprouting fire!" Masayoshi yelled. Sky winced at the burning pain but continued to surge forward, determined to reach the feather.

"Stop it! You'll kill Sky-kun!" Masayoshi yelled at his Kudan, but it didn't respond. He screamed out in greater pain as Sky continued to go deeper, now barely a foot away from the feather, his skin burning.

"Masayoshi-kun!" Sky yelled at him as he fell to his knees, hands clutching at his chest.

"Take it!" Masayoshi yelled back, forcing his eyes to open. He locked eyes with Sky, who looked shocked.

"That's what you've been looking for, right? That's what you've been fighting for. Take it!" Masayoshi clenched his fist, tears coming from his eyes, "IF IT BURNS ME, LET ME BURN!"

Sky smiled slightly and surged forward once again, just managing to close his fingers around the feather.

The Kudan suddenly shrank, both dropping Masayoshi and releasing Sky from the death grip of it's flames. He landed on the back of Bridge's Kudan and meanwhile, rain began to fall over the area, dousing the flames.

Shogo grinned as his Kudan continued to rain on them, "Least I could do was keep the place from catching fire."

Sky landed in a crouch on the ground, his fingers tightly clutching onto the feather. Fai and Kurogane landed next to him and he grinned at them, opening his fist to show them the feather. They nodded at him, Kurogane with a smirk and Fai with a smile, and Sky locked eyes with the blue-green dragon behind them. It faded away as Sky closed his eyes.

"His memory...I managed to get one back."

Sky ran to Sorata's house, not caring that it was raining heavily or that every step brought along a fresh wave of pain. His mind was only on Bridge.

"Hey, how'd it go?" Sprata grinned and then blinked at Sky's appearance, "And why do you look like a burnt cider?"

"I got a feather!" Sky yelled as he ran in. He quickly made his way to Bridge's bedside and knelt next to him. He took a deep breath and placed the feather on Bridge's chest, watching as it was absorbed.

"With this feather, please wake up, Bridge," Sky murmured, taking Bridge's hand in his.

A minute later, Bridge let out a soft moan, his eyes fluttering open as he began to slowly wake up.

"BRIDGE!" Sky said joyfully, seeing Bridge awake for the first tme since the incident at the ruins.

Bridge looked at him for a few seconds, blinked and then frowned slightly at the face grinning at him, "I'm sorry...but who are you?"

Whatever joy Sky had experienced from seeing Bridge awake and hearing his voice again evaporated as he heard those words. He let Bridge's hand slip from his grasp to his side, but the Green Ranger was intently searching his face, trying to get some familiarity.

Sky clenched his fists for a second, fighting the urge to burst into tears and then put on a forced smile, not wanting to confuse Bridge more, "I'm Sky Tate...and you are Bridge Carson."

Bridge nodded slightly, sitting up with a little difficulty. He put one hand to his forehead, letting out a sigh, "I don't remember anything."

"If you would so kind as to listen, I'll tell you everything," Sky said with a hint of sarcasm. Bridge looked at him and he went on, "You are Bridge Carson, SPD Red Ranger," Bridge nodded, having a vague collection of being a Red Ranger, "You have lost your memories and are on a quest to retrieve them. They have been scattered to different dimensions in the form of feathers due to an accident and you only have two right now."

"So, I have to retrieve my memories?" Bridge said slowly and Sky nodded. The Green Ranger thought for a second longer, "I have to do this by myself?"

Sky gave him a small smile, "No. You have . . . traveling companions."

Bridge frowned at him, "Are you one of them?"

Sky wanted to say that he was so much more than that, but he simply said, "Yes."

"you're doing this for a complete stranger?" Bridge asked, disbelievingly.

And that was another knife in Sky's heart, the thought of Bridge thinking they were strangers was becoming to much to bear, but he knew he couldn't cry now, "I am."

"Allow me to introduce myself!" a cheery voice came from behind him and Sky turned to see Fai, Kurogane and Mokona enter the room.

"I am Fai. D. Flowright," the wizard gave a bow, "the grumpy man there is Kurogane and this ehre is Mokona!"

Mokona jumped down from his perch on Kurogane's head to Bridge's lap and held out a paw, "I'm Mokona Modoki, but you can say Mokona!"

Bridge stared at the little white creature before letting out one of his familiar giggles as he shook Mokona's paw with two of his fingers. Sky looked at the expression on Bridge's face and sighed, though he had a small smile on his face. Bridge looked as though he were barely awake, his eyes were half-lidded and he was smiling tiredly, but he still had the aura of warmth around him and Sky could still see the same Bridge he had known on that smile.

While Bridge was playing with Mokona, Sky stepped out in the pouring rain and stood ramrod straight, staring at the ground, letting out the tears he had kept bottled in. He had been so caught up in the joy of retrieving a feather and seeing Bridge awake, he had forgotten the price he had paid to see him awake again.

Bridge would never know him. He would never know the Schuyler Tate he had spent most of his life with. He would never know the person who had first accepted him as who he was. He would never know the person who loved him more than life itself. Sky broke down completely outside, standing straight in the rain, the water mingling with his tears.

From inside the house, Kurogane and Fai were staring at him through the window. "When Bridge-kun asked him who he was, I was sure he would cry," Fai stated.

Kurogane snorted, thought he knew how much those words had affected the younger man, "He has to be strong so that he's not the one crying in the end."

While they were talking, Bridge turned his attention from Mokona for a second and stared at his hand, _While I was asleep, I wonder if someone was holding my hand? _ he thought. _It felt so . . . comforting,_ he smiled, holding it to his cheek, just to feel the warmth of that comforting, unknown presence.

Two silhouettes covered Sky and the dragon and phoenix sheltered him from the rain as the wolf stared up at him sadly. Sky didn't even acknowledge them, still thinking about the events of the last few minutes.

Fai's words rang in the silence, "I think a special strength is required to cry when you should."

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"Thank you for putting up with us," Sky smiled as he shook Sorata's hand. The travelers had decided set out once Sky had healed from the battle and were now standing outside Sorata's home, saying their goodbyes.

"We'll miss you guys," Arashi smiled.

"Thank you for taking care of me," Bridge bowed.

"It was our pleasure," Sorata grinned.

"Sky-kun!" Masayoshi yelled as he ran up to the Blue Ranger. He held up a pair of goggles, "Shogo-san made me a member of his team!"

"God for you!" Sky grinned and then clapped him on the shoulder, "Maybe we'll meet again. Until then, take care of yourself."

Masayoshi nodded, teary-eyed and Sky looked over where Bridge was laughing at something Fai said to him. The Green Ranger had immediately formed a friendship with Fai and Mokona after receiving assurance from Sky that they were friends. Bridge still slept most of the time, but he was regaining strength and energy quickly.

Mokona suddenly jumped out of Bridge's arms and wings sprouted from it's back as an ancient symbol appeared on the ground below the travelers. Bridge immediately inched closer to Sky and Mokona's mouth opened wide, swallowing them, taking them to their next destination.

As they fell through the dark abyss, Sky saw a red sphere emerge from him and smiled at the familiar eyes._Thank you,_ he thought as he saw his Kudan leave him and then felt Bridge's hand in his own. He turned to look at him and saw the look of fear in his eyes.

"I'm scared," he muttered and Sky simply tightened his grip on Bridge's hand and gave him a reassuring smile.

Bridge smiled back and then they turned their gaze towards the end of the abyss, where a brand new world and, maybe, a brand new feather were waiting for them.

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And this is where the journey ends! Don't worry, this is not the end of the story! There are still more feathers and more worlds!

In the next chapter, they are disposed in a new world where the Ryanban and his son are creating chaos. What is the power the Ryanban possesses and who is that familiar girl? Find out next time!


	9. An Old Yet New Friend

Disclaimer: Did I say I owned anything? If I did, I'm a liar.

A/N: Time for a new world! Let's see how they move along in this one!

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"YEOW!" Sky yelled as they were deposited in the next world with a crash: they had landed on a stall selling potatoes.

"Where are we now?" Kurogane muttered darkly as he sat up as well.

Sky looked around at their surroundings, taking in the stalls and the buildings. All in all, it looked a lot like Kyoto's desert area from which he had left. The buildings were simple as were the stalls and the entire area was sandy, like a desert. The people were dressed in Gis and kimonos and were currently staring at the travelers with fear.

Mokona hopped on Bridge's head, "New world!"

"We noticed," Fai grinned.

"Who the hell are you?" an angry voice came from behind them.

Sky looked up to see a large man who was easily eight feet tall towering over them with a large group of men with weapons behind him. Sky narrowed his eyes, his instincts telling him something was off, and glanced at Kurogane who gave him a nearly imperceptible nod. His suspicions were confirmed when he saw the expression on Bridge's face. He was terrified.

"Where did you come from?" the man growled again, his hand near his weapons. Sky remained silent, waiting to see if Bridge nodded at him to say it was okay to tell the man about them. Bridge shook his head and accidentally drew the man's attention.

"You're coming with me," the man growled, grabbing tightly onto Bridge forearms, eliciting a small whimper from him. He gave him a sharp tug, causing him to stumble and fall. His hand went to the whip at his side when he was suddenly forced to let go as Sky's foot plowed into his face and knocked him to the ground.

"What the?" the man sputtered furiously as Sky stood in front of Bridge protectively, acting as a barrier between the attacker and his friend.

"If you don't want to be attacked, don't go around attacking people at random!" a young girl's familiar voice rang out from a roof of one of the small huts. The travelers looked up to see a girl who bore a striking resemblance to-

"Z?" Sky blurted out and winced, but no one heard him, all their attention on the Z lookalike and the dangerous man.

"Elizabeth!" the man growled.

Elizabeth jumped down from the roof, dressed in a gi that looked like the men's, but had a small skirty part."Stop bothering us, you stupid boy!" she spat venomously, rage in her eyes.

"How dare you! You would do well to remember the punishment of opposing my father Elizabeth!" he growled. He was about to remove his whip but then, glancing at Sky, stomped off with his group.

Sky turned to the Bridge with a small, concerned smile, "Are you alright?"

Bridge stared at him for a second before nodding and smiling warmly, "Yes. Thank you very much."

Sky's breath caught as he once again remembered that smile. He felt a sense of warm joy rise up in him that Bridge still saved that smile for him.

His thoughts were broken when Fai said cheerily, "We should help clean up the mess we made!"

"What a pain..." Kurogane grumbled but helped as well while Bridge and Sky picked up all the fruits that had fallen.

"I mean it, thanks a lot, Sky," Bridge said with a grin as he helped lift up a crate. Sky smiled and Bridge felt something in his heart, a strange but familiar feeling.

Elizabeth lifted one crate and put it aside before eying them. Bridge and Sky looked over at her, hoping she wouldn't ask where they had come from as well. She raised an eyebrow and then narrowed her eyes, "Those are weird clothes," she said softly.

Sky thought of something to say, but Bridge's voice broke out, "We're not from this country."

"Do you have a place to stay?" she asked, immediately taking a liking to the Green Ranger.

"No," Bridge shook his head.

"Well, you can stay with me," she said kindly.

"Thank you very much, Miss Elizabeth," Sky said to her.

"Please call me Z," she said with a smile.

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"So you're traveling to different worlds to find his memories?" Z asked with a raised eyebrow.

Sky nodded while Bridge was simply looking as though he wanted to fall asleep then and there. Fai and Mokona sa next to them and helped in the explanation while Kurogane sulked in a corner.

"Z?" Fai smiled at her, "Who were those people in the market-place?"

Her smile dropped off immediately and a dark shadow cast over her face. Bridge frowned slightly, feeling vibes of strong pain, sadness and anger.

"That was the Shinban's son. They're the worst-" she was interrupted when a loud howling sound echoed from outside.

Kurogane stood up, "I'll check it out."

Before he could take a step, Z was up and grabbed a thick metal rod nearby while yelling, "No! Don't go outside!"

All of a sudden, the roof broke, exposing a large tornado. Sky immediately grabbed onto Bridge who was lighter than him and stood a good chance of being blown away. Fai was holding onto one the beams with Kurogane and Mokona was hiding in Sky's shirt.

All of a sudden, a large wooden beam hit Sky in the back and caused his grip on Bridge to loosen enough for him to be sucked toward the tornado. Kurogane watched that happen and felt a force literally pulling him towards the young Ranger and he ran forward, catching his arm and pulled him back.

As suddenly as the wind arrived, it disappeared and everyone managed to settle down. Sky immediately ran to Bridge, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Bridge smiled and bowed slightly in front of Kurogane, "Thank you."

Kurogane, still shocked from what he had just done simply nodded. He had no idea what had made him try a stunt like that for someone he didn't even know, but there was something about Bridge that seemed very familiar.

"Nice save Kuro!" Fai's voice rang out, breaking through the ninja's thoughts.

"What happened?" Sky asked Z.

She sat down once again with a suffering sigh, looking up at her roof, "The Shinban did this. It's his way of punishing those who oppose him," she said with her head bowed down. "You can relax, he won't attack unless we provoke him." She took a deep breath and looked up, "Tomorrow, we can go get clothes for you. Everyone will be suspicious if you aren't dressed properly."

The next morning, Kurogane and Fai were fixing the broken roof or rather, Kurogane was fixing the roof while Fai looked on.

"Why do I have to work on someone else's house?" the ninja growled.

"Z-chan let us stay here last night and the least we can do is help with the repairs!" Fai said from the floor where he was sitting.

"What's a kid doing staying in such a big house all by herself, anyway?" Kuroagne wondered.

"She did mention her mother was dead..." Fai frowned.

"Where are the kids?"

"Out to get some clothes for this country. Bridge-kun and Mokona went as well."

"Do you think that's a good idea, to take the kid out like that? You can't tell whether he's rowing the bost or asleep at the oar," Kurogane scoffed, remembering how looped Bridge seemed to be.

"Bridge-kun barely has a couple of memories with him currently. I assume that he'll gain his energy from the feathers as we find more of them. It'll be quite sometime before we meet the real Bridge. Even after all that, he'll never remember his relationship with Sky-kun," Fai sighed

While they continued to fix the roof, Bridge, Z and Sky were looking for clothes in the town market. They passed by one of the market places and saw a few people playing a game.

"What're they doing?" Sky asked Z while Bridge wandered closer.

"That a sale," Z nodded and the rest of Sky's question was answered by the man who spotted Bridge.

"Young man, would you like to play?" he asked kindly.

Bridge blinked and nodded slightly before walking to the small box. The man explained the rules, "Use the lever to turn the box. There's a small hole in the bottom and there are pebbles inside, so if you stop and a yellow pebble falls out, you win some clothes!"

Bridge nodded in understanding and began to turn the lever. The man cocked his head as Bridge didn't stop and chuckled

"You don't have to spin it so many times," he pointed out

Bridge looked up at him and stopped, five pebbles falling out of the hole. Sky and Z gaped as all five pebbles were yellow in color, meaning they had won enough clothes for Bridge, Syd, Sky , Kurogane and Fai.

"This will do!" Z said happily as she eyed Bridge and Sky, both who were wearing a gi, Bridge's was blue and Sky's was red.

"That was amazing!" Z said to Bridge as they sat near the river on the bridge, "you must be God's favorite."

"God's favorite?" Bridge frowned.

"They say people with exceptionally good luck are normally favorites of God," Z said as she bundled the other clothes t bring to Kurogane, Fai and Syd. "I wonder if you were always this way . . ."

"I don't know," Bridge said softly.

"Why not?" Z frowned.

"I lost nearly all my memory. I remember being in a giant dog-shaped building and I remember some people and a desert. Aside from that, nothing,"

Sky clenched his fist as he heard them talk, "That's why we're on this journey, it's to restore my memory. At least that's what Sky-kun told me," Bridge looked over at Sky, who smiled back painfully.

"I hope you do get your memories back," Z smiled, "I'm sure the world needs more people like you."

Bridge blushed slightly, "Thank yo-" his reply was cut off by a loud explosion and some men laughing.

Z immediately got up and ran in the direction of the smoke rising, Bridge and Sky close behind her.

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A/N: Yes I am ending it here! Aren't I evil? Please review again! I'm sure you're tired of hearing me say that! See ya! (goes to bed)


	10. Ryanban's Terror

Disclaimer: Don't own it!

A/N: Well, I'm at my grandma's place with nothing to do and so here is the next chapter!

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"You can't do this!" a young woman cried, clutching at her old father, both of them looking dirty and worn.

"You should have paid your taxes on time then," the Ryanban's son grinned evilly.

"You're charging twenty times what the old Ryanban charged!" she screeched, "We can't pay that!"

"Then get a better taste of my whip!" he screamed, lifting it up and bringing it down. Before it could make contact, however, Sky had managed to arrive on the scene and he managed to twist the whip around his body with skill, stopping the whip from hurting the people and himself.

"Stop it," he said in quiet, deadly voice.

"You again!" the son growled.

"Leave them alone!" Z yelled as she and Bridge finally caught up.

"You again..." he muttered, but this time grinned and pulled out a fan as Sky jumped back to where Bridge and Z were standing.

Z's eyes widened in recognition, but before she could say anything, the son waved the fan and a helmeted spirit in the form of a warrior with a katana erupted forward, aiming for Sky.

Sky was taken by surprise, but that didn't stop him from leaping forward and kicking the warrior away before he maneuvered himself to a roomier area.

The next warrior slashed at him with his sword, but Sky ducked before leaping leaping onto it and kicking the warrior away, using his momentum to punch another one away.

"That's my mother's fan!" Z said, Bridge looked over at her in concern.

"My mother was a Shinban too, but she used her magic to help the people," Z continued, watching as Sky barely avoided another blow, "the Ryanban and his son were nothing when they first came here, they were as poor as everyone else. Their magic was not great either. But a year ago, they got really strong all of a sudden."

The warriors made another attack from either side, but Sky leaped up, avoiding both attacks with only a scratch on his cheek. He kicked the one on his right and then flipped the other one.

"They chased out the old Ryanban and established themselves in his place. The people began to suffer under their rule. My mother fought against them, trying to stop them..." Z's eyes began tearing up and Bridge immediately took a step close to her.

"AND THE RYANBAN MURDERED HER!" she screamed.

Sky was shocked at her outburst and then felt complete rage. He kicked the sword out of the hands of one warrior and used that to stab the other one. Once that evaporated, he quickly turned around, cutting the head off the previous owner of the sword. Both sword and warrior quickly evaporated and the Ex-Ranger turned to see the Ryanban's son looking shocked, but he quickly recovered.

"You haven't won yet!" he grinned as the sky began to cloud up. Sky looked up just in time to see a tornado touch the ground he was standing on and suck him into it.

"Sky-kun!" Bridge screamed in concern and fear.

The Blue Ranger winced as he felt himself being tossed around inside the tornado and then felt a brain-numbing impact as he was hurled to the ground. He felt someone take his head and place it in his/her lap and he opened his eyes to see Bridge's concerned face hovering over his.

"You're bleeding," Bridge said in a worried tone, noting the blood streaming down Sky's face.

"Behold my father's power!" the son grinned as he looked up at the retreating power.

"You are so pathetic! You have to call your daddy to fight your battles?" Z said in disgust.

The son sneered at her and then held up the fan. Z's disgust melted away into concern for the fan, "Be careful with that! It belonged to my mother!"

The son simply smirked... and then hurled the fan into the retreating tornado, the force of the wind shredding it to pieces.

Z looked on in shock and horror as the pieces of the fan fluttered to the ground, the tiny bell letting out a small ringing noise as it hit the ground.

"That was the only one...my mother had," she whispered softly.

"Don't ever insult my father," the son said simply before turning to the father and daughter, "for your resistance, your tax has been doubled. If you don't pay, you both will receive one hundred lashings."

Z slowly walked forward, "One of these days, the Amenosa will arrive and you'll be finished."

"The government guards? They'll never come!" the son laughed before leaving the area and the destruction.

Sky got to his feet unsteadily and watched as Z collapsed to her knees on the ground, picking up the bell in both her hands as a lone tear streamed down her face.

"Mother..." she muttered in a heart-broken voice. She started as she felt warm arms around her and opened her eyes to see Bridge hugging her tightly, his blue eyes filled with her sorrow.

"I'm sorry," he muttered as Z cried her heart out on him.

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"Are you okay?" Bridge asked softly as he gently wiped away the blood on Sky's face.

"Yes," Sky smiled at Bridge to ease his fears and got a tiny one back.

"So, these guys suddenly got strong a year ago, right?" Fai asked Z, who nodded. "This sounds like one of Bridge-chan's feathers to me..."

"That doesn't make sense," Kurogane interrupted, "it was only a short time ago that the kid's feathers disappeared."

"Time moves differently in different dimensions," Fai said smoothly, "it's possible that the same applies here."

"If it is a feather," Sky looked at Bridge as he began to stand up, "I'll get it back."

"Sky-kun," Bridge grabbed onto his sleeve, "you can't go now! You're injured!"

"I'll be fine," Sky grinned, "I'm just going to the castle to see what we're up against. I won't go in or anything, I just want to see it."

"I wouldn't advise that," Z interrupted, "when we've tried to revolt, the villagers disappeared as soon as they came near the door."

"I'll stay away, but I must get a look at the castle. If we are to get the feather back, we'll have to enter the castle," Sky turned and left before anyone could say anything else, but not before glancing at the portrait of Z's mother.

The woman had long, flowing dark hair like her daughter, but there was a softness in her eyes that was definitely not in Z's. Her pale skin seemed to gleam even in the painting and her smile was as bright as the sun. Sky clenched his fist at the thought that someone could harm a woman like that and strengthened his resolve to get back the feather that had been the cause of Z's misery.

Kurogane smirked as he watched the Ranger walk off and Fai noticed, "Something you would have done?"

The ninja snorted, "Exactly what I would have done for my princess or anyone I care about."

Sky wandered closer to the huge castle doors, examining it as closely as he couold while still keeping distance. The door had no guards, which was very odd, but he was sure it had been protected by magic.

"Find anything?" a voice asked from behind him and he wheeled around to see Bridge standing behind him.

"What are you doing here?" he asked in surprise and then narrowed his eyes, "you should go back, it's not safe here!"

"This is my feather, I need to know if anything happens to you because of it," Bridge said stubbornly.

"Bridge-san..." Sky groaned, the honorific slipping out automatically.

"Kun," Bridge corrected, "No formalities, please."

Sky blinked and smiled thinly, "Bridge-kun, this is not safe for you. Please go-" Sky was interrupted by bright light coming out of the ground beneath him and Bridge.

"What's happening?!" Sky yelled and saw that Bridge was as shocked as he was. He quickly grabbed onto the other's wrist as the ground fell away from beneath them and they fell through to a floor storeys beneath them.

Sky blinked as they landed on the ground gently even though they had fallen through a height of nearly fourty storeys. He looked around to see that they were surrounded in a light blue bubble that slowed down their fall.

The place they were in was pitch dark except for a few torches and seemed to be nothing but complete darkness. He could see a couple of pillars, but that was it. The place was completely bare otherwise.

"Where are we?" Sky muttered and then looked over at Bridge, who had gone silent, "Bridge-kun?"

Bridge looked over at Sky and the Ranger's eyes widened in shock as he noticed that Bridge's blue eyes were glowing the same color as the bubble around them. His eyes turned a dark ebony color as the bubble disappeared and Sky began to tense up before recognized the look in those eyes. It was the same look he had seen in the portrait in Z's home, even the same smile.

Sky squinted at what was surely not Bridge and spoke slowly, "Are you... Z's mother?"

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Okay, this chapter might seem a lot shorter and much more rushed, but I have to start studying for my exams soon, so I needed to get this done with quickly. Sorry! Please review though!


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